Mangalore, Aug 30: Statistics is not knowledge in itself, but rather a tool to arrive at knowledge, said retired Director of Mangalore International Airport M R Vasudeva.
Speaking after inaugurating the two-day state level seminar on 'Statistical Methods For Practice' organised by Department of Statistics at St Agnes College, Mangalore, on Friday, he said that statistical thinking would be the way of life among people in the future.
“Statistics does remove the domain of ignorance by helping one with facts and figures. It helps you to be precise, to remain within your domain and keeps you on the proper track. When you know your figures correctly, collected, compiled, tabulated, analysed and interpreted, you will not go wrong. However, unless a statistician gets into the nitty-gritty of the industry and its requirements, he may not be able to give the correct information. Hence, he should be involved in the industry,” he said.
He said that statistics could be misused sometimes. Politicians cling on to statistics not for illumination but for support, and that is where they go wrong, he said.
Speaking about the contribution of statistics, he said that in the last 100 years, the work done by statisticians was immense. The number of disciplines using statistics has gone over three dozen. It is developing the thought-process in human beings. This is the contribution of statistics to the society. The best way is to apply statistics in every field of operation, and it should be studied for the benefit of society as a whole. Statisticians should be given enough ideas and knowledge about social sciences, econometrics, business, medicine etc, so that they are able to help the society in identifying and solving its problems, he said.
Statistics is helping to conduct the various scientific researches, and is questioning the integrity of the scientific method if it is not being used correctly. A statistician is an important person in the organisation who should be identified and recognised by the management; hence, you should equip yourselves with more ideas and knowledge, he told the gathering.
He added that statistical organisations should see to it that the role of statisticians is upgraded, and statistical consultation should be brought in India.
In her address, principal of the college, Sr Prem D'Souza said that real education was that which enables one to stand up on one's own feet. The year 2013 being marked as the International Year of Statistics shows how important the subject is, she said.
Prof Venkataramana, Prof Sridhar, Prof Deepak Dayanthy and Head of Department of Statistics Shubharekha were present during the programme.
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