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For Today’s Graduate, Just One Word: Statistics

Statisticians also caution that strong correlations of data do not necessarily prove a cause-and-effect link.
For example, in the late 1940s, before there was a polio vaccine, public health experts in America noted that polio cases increased in step with the consumption of ice cream and soft drinks, according to David Alan Grier, a historian and statistician at George Washington University.
Eliminating such treats was even recommended as part of an anti-polio diet.
It turned out that polio outbreaks were most common in the hot months of summer, when people naturally ate more ice cream, showing only an association, Mr. Grier said.

NYTから。
記事内容は統計学がIT分野で重要になってるって話だけど、終戦直後にアイスの食べ過ぎで小児麻痺？なんてことを心配してた連中もいるんだなぁと。

データ・マイニングはもちろん、金融工学でも、コンピュータ・ビジョンでも、おそらくはバイオ分野でも統計学の役立つ分野は急拡大して行くだろう。

そして、いまや広大なネットの海には(ぱっと思いつくような、膨大なコーパスが無料で手に入る自然言語処理関係とかマーケットリサーチとかだけでなく)、CPU時間と才覚さえあれば個人でもそれを抽出できる膨大な資源が溶け込んでいる…。