Donald H. Clanton Visiting Mathematician

2008-09

 

In March of 2009, the Department of Mathematics hosted
the 2008-09 Donald H. Clanton Visiting Mathematician:

Professor Stephen M. Stigler

Ernest DeWitt Burton Distinguished Service Professor
Professor and Chair, Department of Statistics
University of Chicago

Dr. Stigler gave two talks on March 26, 2009.


The Five Most Consequential Ideas in the History of Statistics
Patrick Hall, Townes Science Center
March 26, 2009
4:00 PM

Five ideas are identified as the most consequential in the history
of statistics. All had origins that predate the 20th century; all have
enduring contemporary relevance; all are basic yet sufficiently subtle that
they can puzzle and perplex some of the best minds even today. And, no,
Bayes Theorem is not in the list.

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Skill or Luck?
A Statistical Look at Tournament Golf

Watkins Room, University Center
March 26, 2009
7:30 PM

In 1996 Greg Norman suffered an epic collapse in the late rounds
of the Masters Tournament. New definitions of the ideas of skill and
luck suggest that his collapse was to a degree predictable, and it has
interesting implications within and beyond golf. Dr. Stigler will analyze one modern
sport and discuss what statistical theory can tell us about competition in
other sports, in business, and in science.