Selasa, 25 September 2012

The Importance of Statistics in Today's World

Many people disregard the importance of statistics in today’s world. “Statistics is the science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis, and interpretation of numerical facts or data, and that, by use of mathematical theories of probability, imposes order and regularity on aggregates of more or less disparate elements.” (Dictionary.com).
How exactly would we know how to make decisions without statistics? Statistics gives numbers meaning. And these numbers become vital information to our lives. If we pay close attention, we will see that statistics is everywhere. It is difficult to encounter an article that does not give us some sort of statistical information. In “Airfares Made Easy (or Easier)”, Mr. Etzioni (professor or computer science and engineering) has used statistics to develop a program that will assist customers into finding cheaper airline rates based on how soon they will want their tickets. Without statistics such program would not be viable. Tools like these have been utilized everywhere on the internet. And even though most people do not realize it, it is through the use of statistics that they are made possible. In “The Chemistry of a 90+ wine”, statistics is being used to help detect quality of wines. Enologix, the company responsible for doing such thing, has a database containing information on thousands of wines from all over the world. “McCloskey looks at secondary chemicals (like terpenes, phenols and anthocyanins), which, in affecting more nuanced characteristics like texture, aroma, taste and color, are more closely associated with quality.” said David Darlington.
Statistics is your daily life. If you want to check your average propensity to spend, you can do so. You simply collect data, analyze it, classify it, interpret the numbers and you can come up with an answer. If you want to check your marginal propensity to spend you can do so by using the same method. With the economy the way it is, I think everyone is analyzing how much they are spending and better yet, how much they are saving.
The economy is another example. We are able to see how the economy has been doing throughout the years. If you look at a graph showing you numbers for different years. Guess what? That is statistics. We can see when it is thriving or when it is down with a simple look at a graph. We make predictions as to when it will improve based on GDP, unemployment and a many other assumptions based on information provided to us via statistics.
If we check the weather it can involve statistics. If you want to check the average temperature for today you can do so through the use of statistics. Not just average, but coldest or hottest temperatures on same day in previous years. Weather forecasts and so on.
I work for a luxury outerwear company that server as both retail and service. We not only sell, but we also provide services such as cleaning, storage, remodeling, repairs and so on. We use statistics every day. We have hundreds of customers on our database and without a statistical program to help us assess the information needed, who knows if it would even be possible. Depending on what it is, it could take hours, days or even weeks to get to the information needed. Not to say that we’d need a ware house just to store customers’ files along with new personnel to come up with the information desired. If we want to know the percentage of our customer list that is active we can do so. If we’d like to know what percentage of our customers have purchased new items from us this year, it is doable also. It also shows customers who have not purchased new items, but have used our facility either for storage, cleaning, remodeling and repairs. It shows percentage of yearly sales base on these 4 categories. It shows the amount of inventory available or sold. It shows how much a customer has spent over the years in our store. You can even go to the point where it shows activity of costumers by where they live. If we want to run a sale we know exactly which customers to target. If we want to know which are our most important customers based on spending, we can do that also. Without having statistics how exactly would all this be possible? If we did not have programs that utilized statistics to do these sorts of things, I do not even want to imagine how much harder life would be. It helps improve business. It helps draw business conclusions or help us make predictions. It helps us know where we stand.
T o have anyone say or think that statistics is irrelevant in today’s worlds is nothing, but pure ignorance. It literally is everywhere. And without it, we would be in big trouble.

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