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Karl Pearson : The Scientific Life in a Statistical Age by Theodore M. Porter (2004, Hardcover)

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About this product

Product Identifiers

PublisherPrinceton University Press

ISBN-100691114455

ISBN-139780691114453

eBay Product ID (ePID)6024322

Product Key Features

Number of Pages352 Pages

Publication NameKarl Pearson : the Scientific Life in a Statistical Age

LanguageEnglish

Publication Year2004

SubjectCultural Heritage, Probability & Statistics / General, History, Science & Technology

TypeTextbook

Subject AreaMathematics, Science, Biography & Autobiography

AuthorTheodore M. Porter

FormatHardcover

Dimensions

Item Weight22 Oz

Item Length9.2 in

Item Width6 in

Additional Product Features

Intended AudienceCollege Audience

LCCN2003-054820

Reviews"[A] brilliant biography, one can hardly imagine a better summary of Karl Pearson's fascinating life and complicated persona. . . . [Porter] reveals more about the origins, aspirations, and consequences of modern statistics than any technical treatise of the same length could possibly accomplish. As Porter emphasizes, Pearson's life was a tour de force [and] extremely fascinating to the reader." --Manfred D. Laubichler, Science, "Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his life's work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics."-- Peter J. Bowler, Nature, "Theodore Porter's Karl Pearson explores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how 'the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader." --Ramachandran Bharath, MAA Reviews, Pearson's story can . . . be read as a triumph of statistics in which a powerful intellect comes to see our field as a great source of enlightenment. As [Theodore M.] Porter writes in a wonderful first sentence, 'Beginning in 1892, when he took up statistics as his scientific vocation, Karl Pearson devoted himself relentlessly to a project of almost universal quantification.' That sentence very effectively conveys what I try to tell my students in a first statistics course, that this is a way of thinking which will allow them to see the world in a new and beautiful way, though I do hope that they avoid adopting Pearson's unwavering commitment that statistics is the only way to view the world. ---Richard J. Cleary, The American Statistician, "Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his life's work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics." --Peter J. Bowler, Nature, "Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his lifes work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics."-- Peter J. Bowler, Nature, "Pearson's story can . . . be read as a triumph of statistics in which a powerful intellect comes to see our field as a great source of enlightenment. As [Theodore M.] Porter writes in a wonderful first sentence, 'Beginning in 1892, when he took up statistics as his scientific vocation, Karl Pearson devoted himself relentlessly to a project of almost universal quantification.' That sentence very effectively conveys what I try to tell my students in a first statistics course, that this is a way of thinking which will allow them to see the world in a new and beautiful way, though I do hope that they avoid adopting Pearson's unwavering commitment that statistics is the only way to view the world."-- Richard J. Cleary, The American Statistician, "Pearson's story can . . . be read as a triumph of statistics in which a powerful intellect comes to see our field as a great source of enlightenment. As [Theodore M.] Porter writes in a wonderful first sentence, 'Beginning in 1892, when he took up statistics as his scientific vocation, Karl Pearson devoted himself relentlessly to a project of almost universal quantification.' That sentence very effectively conveys what I try to tell my students in a first statistics course, that this is a way of thinking which will allow them to see the world in a new and beautiful way, though I do hope that they avoid adopting Pearson's unwavering commitment that statistics is the only way to view the world." ---Richard J. Cleary, The American Statistician, "Theodore Porter's Karl Pearson explores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how 'the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader." ---Ramachandran Bharath, MAA Reviews, "Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his life's work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics." ---Peter J. Bowler, Nature, Porter's biography of the young Pearson, the statistician in embryo, exceeds all expectations in recreating the intellectual worlds in which Pearson tried to find a home. The breadth of the reading and the depth of interpretation are impressive. . . . Porter shows us a young Pearson, clever and brave, who has a burning passion to understand things., "Karl Pearson was one of the most significant architects of modern statistics. In this remarkable book, Theodore Porter superbly captures the romance (and seldom has the use of this word been so appropriate) of Karl Pearson's early flirtation with philosophy and the tortured path that led him to statistics." --Stephen Stigler, University of Chicago, Pearson's story can . . . be read as a triumph of statistics in which a powerful intellect comes to see our field as a great source of enlightenment. As [Theodore M.] Porter writes in a wonderful first sentence, 'Beginning in 1892, when he took up statistics as his scientific vocation, Karl Pearson devoted himself relentlessly to a project of almost universal quantification.' That sentence very effectively conveys what I try to tell my students in a first statistics course, that this is a way of thinking which will allow them to see the world in a new and beautiful way, though I do hope that they avoid adopting Pearson's unwavering commitment that statistics is the only way to view the world., "Porter's biography of the young Pearson, the statistician in embryo, exceeds all expectations in recreating the intellectual worlds in which Pearson tried to find a home. The breadth of the reading and the depth of interpretation are impressive. . . . Porter shows us a young Pearson, clever and brave, who has a burning passion to understand things." --John Aldrich, American Scientist, Porter's biography of the young Pearson, the statistician in embryo, exceeds all expectations in recreating the intellectual worlds in which Pearson tried to find a home. The breadth of the reading and the depth of interpretation are impressive. . . . Porter shows us a young Pearson, clever and brave, who has a burning passion to understand things. ---John Aldrich, American Scientist, "Theodore Porter's Karl Pearson explores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how 'the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader."-- Ramachandran Bharath, MAA Reviews, "[A] brilliant biography, one can hardly imagine a better summary of Karl Pearson's fascinating life and complicated persona. . . . [Porter] reveals more about the origins, aspirations, and consequences of modern statistics than any technical treatise of the same length could possibly accomplish. As Porter emphasizes, Pearson's life was a tour de force [and] extremely fascinating to the reader." ---Manfred D. Laubichler, Science, Theodore Porter's Karl Pearson explores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how 'the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader. ---Ramachandran Bharath, MAA Reviews, Theodore Porter'sKarl Pearsonexplores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how 'the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader., "Pearson's story can . . . be read as a triumph of statistics in which a powerful intellect comes to see our field as a great source of enlightenment. As [Theodore M.] Porter writes in a wonderful first sentence, 'Beginning in 1892, when he took up statistics as his scientific vocation, Karl Pearson devoted himself relentlessly to a project of almost universal quantification.' That sentence very effectively conveys what I try to tell my students in a first statistics course, that this is a way of thinking which will allow them to see the world in a new and beautiful way, though I do hope that they avoid adopting Pearson's unwavering commitment that statistics is the only way to view the world." --Richard J. Cleary, The American Statistician, "Porter's biography of the young Pearson, the statistician in embryo, exceeds all expectations in recreating the intellectual worlds in which Pearson tried to find a home. The breadth of the reading and the depth of interpretation are impressive. . . . Porter shows us a young Pearson, clever and brave, who has a burning passion to understand things." ---John Aldrich, American Scientist, "Porter's biography of the young Pearson, the statistician in embryo, exceeds all expectations in recreating the intellectual worlds in which Pearson tried to find a home. The breadth of the reading and the depth of interpretation are impressive. . . . Porter shows us a young Pearson, clever and brave, who has a burning passion to understand things."-- John Aldrich, American Scientist, "[A] brilliant biography, one can hardly imagine a better summary of Karl Pearson's fascinating life and complicated persona. . . . [Porter] reveals more about the origins, aspirations, and consequences of modern statistics than any technical treatise of the same length could possibly accomplish. As Porter emphasizes, Pearson's life was a tour de force [and] extremely fascinating to the reader."-- Manfred D. Laubichler, Science, Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his life's work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics., Theodore Porter's book on Pearson is not a biography in the conventional sense. It focuses on the early part of his career in an effort to show how he was drawn to the study of statistics and eventually conceived it as the key to a new philosophy of nature, which was to become his life's work. . . . The great value of Porter's book is that this focus on the early phase of Pearson's career highlights the complex route by which his quest for emotional and intellectual satisfaction led him towards the project that would, in effect, create modern statistics. ---Peter J. Bowler, Nature, [A] brilliant biography, one can hardly imagine a better summary of Karl Pearson's fascinating life and complicated persona. . . . [Porter] reveals more about the origins, aspirations, and consequences of modern statistics than any technical treatise of the same length could possibly accomplish. As Porter emphasizes, Pearson's life was a tour de force [and] extremely fascinating to the reader. ---Manfred D. Laubichler, Science, [A] brilliant biography, one can hardly imagine a better summary of Karl Pearson's fascinating life and complicated persona. . . . [Porter] reveals more about the origins, aspirations, and consequences of modern statistics than any technical treatise of the same length could possibly accomplish. As Porter emphasizes, Pearson's life was a tour de force [and] extremely fascinating to the reader., "Brilliant! Karl Pearson is fortunate to have a biographer who saves him from what he most abhorred: his fear that a life could be reduced to a mere discovery, stripped of all its personal and historical specificity. " --Ken Alder, Northwestern University, author of The Measure of All Things, "Theodore Porter's Karl Pearson explores the fullness and richness of Pearson's intellectual and emotional life, shows us how the toil of the years' led to the revolution he wrought in statistics. . . . The book would . . . be a source of both pleasure and profit to any serious reader."-- Ramachandran Bharath, MAA Reviews

Dewey Edition22

IllustratedYes

Dewey Decimal519.5092

Table Of ContentPreface and Acknowledgments vii CHAPTER ONE Introduction: An Improbable Personage 1 CHAPTER TWO Lehrjahre of a Poetic Wrangler 13 CHAPTER THREE Apostle of Renunciation: A New Werther 43 CHAPTER FOUR Pearson's Progress: A Nineteenth-Century Passion Play 69 CHAPTER FIVE Cultural Historian in a Political Age 91 CHAPTER SIX Intellectual Love and the Woman Question 125 CHAPTER SEVEN Ether Squirts and the Inaccessibility of Nature 178 CHAPTER EIGHT Scientific Education and Graphical Statistics 215 CHAPTER NINE The Statistical Reformation 249 CHAPTER TEN Epilogue: Composing a Life 297 Bibliography 315 Index 329

SynopsisKarl Pearson, founder of modern statistics, came to this field by way of passionate early studies of philosophy and cultural history as well as ether physics and graphical geometry. His faith in science grew out of a deeply moral quest, reflected also in his socialism and his efforts to find a new basis for relations between men and women. This biography recounts Pearson's extraordinary intellectual adventure and sheds new light on the inner life of science. Theodore Porter's intensely personal portrait of Pearson extends from religious crisis and sexual tensions to metaphysical and even mathematical anxieties. Pearson sought to reconcile reason with enthusiasm and to achieve the impersonal perspective of science without sacrificing complex individuality. Even as he longed to experience nature directly and intimately, he identified science with renunciation and positivistic detachment. Porter finds a turning point in Pearson's career, where his humanistic interests gave way to statistical ones, in his Grammar of Science (1892), in which he attempted to establish scientific method as the moral educational basis for a refashioned culture. In this original and engaging book, a leading historian of modern science investigates the interior experience of one man's scientific life while placing it in a rich tapestry of social, political, and intellectual movements.

LC Classification NumberQA276.P64P67 2004