The politics of large numbers : a history of statistical reasoning

The Politics of Large Numbers In this study of the history of statistics, which begins with probability theory in the 17th century, Alain Desrosieres shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments. Full description Statistics-driven thinking is ubiquitous in modern society. In this ambitious and sophisticated study of the history of statistics, which begins with probability theory in the seventeenth century, Alain Desrosires shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments. He traces the complex reciprocity between modern governments and the mathematical artifacts that both dictate the duties of the state and measure its successes. No other work, in any language, covers such a broad spectrum--probability, mathematical statistics, psychology, economics, sociology, surveys, public health, medical statistics--in accurately synthesizing the history of statistics, with an emphasis on the conceptual development of social statistics, culminating in twentieth-century applied econometrics. Contents 8 Acknowledgments 10 Introduction: Arguing from Social Facts 14 1 Prefects and Geometers 29 2 Judges and Astronomers 58 3 Averages and the Realism of Aggregates 80 4 Correlation and the Realism of Causes 116 5 Statistics and the State: France and Great Britain 160 6 Statistics and the State: Germany and the United States 191 7 The Part for the Whole: Monographs or Representative Samplings 223 8 Classifying and Encoding 249 9 Modeling and Adjusting 292 Conclusion: Disputing the Indisputable 336 Notes 352 References 356 Index 372 "In this study of the history of statistics, which begins with probability theory in the seventeenth century, Alain Desrosieres shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments. He traces the complex reciprocity between modern governments and the mathematical artifacts that both dictate the duties of the state and measure its successes."--Jacket In this sophisticated study of the history of statistics, Desrosieres shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments. He traces the complex reciprocity between modern governments and the mathematical artifacts that dictate the duties of the state and measure its successes. Begins with study of history of statistics, and shows how the evolution of modern statistics has been inextricably bound up with the knowledge and power of governments.