The importance of Statistics in our lives

Atharv Kulkarni
6 min readSep 15, 2022

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Photo by m. on Unsplash

Statistics has more significant value in your life than you think. From a pen you buy till you pay your taxes , everything accompanies for some analyst making charts and suggesting plans using statistics. Statistical knowledge helps us use the proper methods to collect the data, employ the correct analysis, and effectively present the results. Statistics is an important process used in various areas of study, we make discoveries in science, make decisions based on data, and make predictions. Statistics allows us to understand a subject much more deeply.

  1. Weather:
    So you watch weather forecasting , see the weather on your smart phone or other devices , what methods do you think must be taken in use for doing that?…..yeah, statistics is used in weather forecasting , Statistical postprocessing techniques are nowadays key components of the forecasting suites in many national meteorological services (NMS), with, for most of them, the objective of correcting the impact of different types of errors on the forecasts. The final aim is to provide optimal, automated, seamless forecasts for end users. Many techniques are now flourishing in the statistical, meteorological, climatological, hydrological, and engineering communities.
  2. Researchers:
    The role of statistics in research is to function as a tool in designing research, analyzing its data and drawing conclusions therefrom. Most research studies result in a large volume of raw data which must be suitably reduced so that the same can be read easily and can be used for further analysis. Clearly the science of statistics cannot be ignored by any research worker, even though he may not have occasion to use statistical methods in all their details and ramifications. Classification and tabulation, as stated earlier, achieve this objective to some extent, but we have to go a step further and develop certain indices or measures to summaries the collected/classified data. Only after this we can adopt the process of generalization from small groups (i.e., samples) to population.
  3. Insurance
    The business of insurance is sustained by a complex system of risk analysis and this analysis involves anticipating the likelihood of a particular loss and charging enough in premiums to guarantee that insured losses can be paid and this is afforded by statistics to be used to determine what risk an insured poses to an insurance company, what percentage of policies is likely to pay out, and how much money a company can expect to pay out in claims. In this paper we highlighted the role of statistics in insurance business for instance to introduce and develop new products, statistics play a role in evaluating sample and collateral information. Linear regression models are essential tools in finding risk factors for premiums calculations. Time series methods are used in various ways to predict trends, and simulation methods are crucial to understanding the many models considered for anything from new products to revisions in rating schemes. Frankly speaking, many insurance business activities can be accomplished with statistics including deciding a new location, marketing the product, and estimating what the profit will be on a new product and so forth that is why we underline the irreplaceable role of statistics in all stages of insurance business.
  4. Finance:
    In the finance sector, statistical data facilitate decision-making. For instance, a watch manufacturing company can use statistical tools to determine the percentage of defective watches in every lot. At a macro level, it helps in understanding a country’s financial state and measuring economic growth. At a micro-level, statistics helps analysts determine a company’s business income, earnings, and revenue-generating capacity. Be it preparing budgets, financial forecasts, monitoring a company, or a country’s performance, statistics is everywhere.
  5. Healthcare:
    By identifying statistical trends and trails, health care providers can monitor local conditions and compare them to state, national, and international trends. Health statistics provide empirical data to assist in the allocation of public and private funds and help to determine how research efforts should be focused. Whether considering disease incidence, accidents, cure rates, physician or hospital fees, malpractice, mortality, drugs, treatments, or medical devices, the primary source for statistical health data most often appears on government, international organization, or professional association web sites. Credibility is critical when using statistics; the following web sites offer authoritative data.

6. Product Quality Control:
Statistical analysis in quality control is where statistical methods are used to measure, monitor and maintain the overall quality of products. Over time, the results help processes, such as manufacturing, ensure that the procedures will produce more specification-conforming products, therefore creating less waste. At BDK, we use both AQL and Cpk techniques in order to preserve our reputation for outstanding quality. AQL, Acceptance Quality Limit, refers to the maximum number or percentage of defective products beyond which a batch is rejected. For example, if you set your AQL as 2% this means that if there are more than 2% defective items in a batch, then all products in this batch will be rejected. The production process will then be reviewed to work out the areas that are causing the defects.

7. Prediction:
Statistics is used for predicting many events and outcomes. Such as the probability of winning a match, the probability of a natural disaster to happen, the probability of a party’s winning an election , the probability of Apple announcing affordable smart phones (yeah that would be a zero according to me) , yes you get it….predicting is not just predicting according to [predicted outcomes = favorable outcomes / total no. of outcomes] , but also many rules some complex , some easy too understand , but the most important point is they make our life easier , sometimes harder if used in war-like situations. Here is a video depicting how mathematical prediction can predict the FUTURE:

8. Diseases:
Statistical modeling and prediction in epidemiology provide a method to understand why and how infections spread and how they might be prevented or restricted. For instance, when a new infectious disease emerges or there is an outbreak of a known infectious disease, epidemiologists are the scientists, who collect, analyze, and interpret information to indicate interventions for halting further dissemination. Many infectious diseases do not respect national boundaries, color, creed, caste, communities, etc. initially affecting only one region of the world, and rapidly disseminates to other regions and ultimately may become a pandemic like COVID-19. These diseases may have several types based on their extent of dissemination.

Statistics is also used in predicting whicch patiant will get more benifit from a medicine:

9. News-Media:
Statistical information as part of news reports of science is intended to legitimate the accounts of evidence based on peer-reviewed data. Indeed, the persuasive power of numbers can be seen in newsrooms as it supports and validates arguments (Boyle, 2000; Eberstadt, 1995; Goldacre, Bad Science, 2009; Hacking, 1965; Livingston & Voakes, 2005; Lugo-Ocando & Brandão, 2015). Nonetheless, these mathematical abstractions can also be used as a means to misinform the public (Huff, 1954; Moore, 1997). This chapter, thus, seeks both to understand how journalists use scientific statistics as a means to communicate current scientific research as well as how the public decodes this information. It proposes to address the construction of scientific statistics by journalists and its deconstruction by the public at large through a cross-Atlantic comparison of the uses of mathematics in science news and on daily life.

10. Social Work:
Understanding statistical concepts is essential for social work professionals. It is key to understanding research and reaching evidence-based decisions in your own practice — but that is only the beginning. If you understand statistics, you can determine the best interventions for your clients. You can use new tools to monitor and evaluate the progress of your client or team. You can recognize biased systems masked by complex models and the appearance of scientific neutrality. For social workers, statistics are not just math, they are a critical practice tool.

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