Karl Pearson: the scientific life in a statistical age

Abstract

“We live in a world of numbers. ” So begins The Triumph of Numbers, the posthumously published book of the eminent historian of science, I. Bernard Cohen. The numbers he refers to are wages, taxes, consumer prices, financial records, economic reports, demographic data, sports statistics, and the like. When did this numerical deluge begin? Too long ago for us to know! Even before the formation of the first civilizations, several Neolithic communities scattered about the Mediterranean left behind stones and ostraca bearing numerical archives of trade, personal services, interest rates, and gambling debts. As civilizations emerged, societies and governments increasingly relied on numbers to manage the ever greater complexities