Theory of Probability and Statistics as Exemplified in Short Dictums

Abstract

I am presenting a first-ever scientific collection of short sayings on probability and statistics expressed by most various men of science, many classics included, from antiquity to Kepler to our time. Quite understandably, the reader will find here no mathematical formulas and in some instances he will miss a worthy subject. Markov chains provide a good example: their inventor had not said anything about them suitable for my goal. Nevertheless, the scope of the collected dictums is amazingly broad which reflects both the discussions concerning the lack of a solid foundation of probability theory until the 1930s and the great extent of applications of probability and statistics. And I have also included two related and most important topics, the treatment of observations and randomness.