Computer Age Statistical Inference, Student Edition: Algorithms, Evidence, and Data Science (Institute of Mathematical Statistics Monographs, Series

$45.00
by Bradley Efron

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The twenty-first century has seen a breathtaking expansion of statistical methodology, both in scope and influence. 'Data science' and 'machine learning' have become familiar terms in the news, as statistical methods are brought to bear upon the enormous data sets of modern science and commerce. How did we get here? And where are we going? How does it all fit together? Now in paperback and fortified with exercises, this book delivers a concentrated course in modern statistical thinking. Beginning with classical inferential theories - Bayesian, frequentist, Fisherian - individual chapters take up a series of influential topics: survival analysis, logistic regression, empirical Bayes, the jackknife and bootstrap, random forests, neural networks, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, inference after model selection, and dozens more. The distinctly modern approach integrates methodology and algorithms with statistical inference. Each chapter ends with class-tested exercises, and the book concludes with speculation on the future direction of statistics and data science. 'Among other things, it is an attempt to characterize the current state of statistics by identifying important tools in the context of their historical development. It also offers an enlightening series of illustrations of the interplay between computation and inference ... This is an attractive book that invites browsing by anyone interested in statistics and its future directions.' Bill Satzer, Mathematical Association of America Reviews 'Efron and Hastie (both, Stanford Univ.) have superbly crafted a central text/reference book that presents a broad overview of modern statistics. The work examines major developments in computation from the late-20th and early-21st centuries, ranging from electronic computations to 'big data' analysis. Focusing primarily on the last six decades, the text thoroughly documents the progression within the discipline of statistics ... This text is highly recommended for graduate libraries.' D. J. Gougeon, Choice 'My take on Computer Age Statistical Inference is that experienced statisticians will find it helpful to have such a compact summary of twentieth-century statistics, even if they occasionally disagree with the book's emphasis; students beginning the study of statistics will value the book as a guide to statistical inference that may offset the dangerously mind-numbing experience offered by most introductory statistics textbooks; and the rest of us non-experts interested in the details will enjoy hundreds of hours of pleasurable reading.' Joseph Rickert, RStudio (www.rstudio.com) "A masterful guide to how the inferential bases of classical statistics can provide a principled disciplinary frame for the data science of the twenty-first century." Stephen Stigler, University of Chicago, and author of Seven Pillars of Statistical Wisdom "Absolutely brilliant. This beautifully written compendium reviews many big statistical ideas, including the authors' own. A must for anyone engaged creatively in statistics and the data sciences, for repeated use. Efron and Hastie demonstrate the ever-growing power of statistical reasoning, past, present, and future." Carl Morris, Harvard University, Massachusetts "Computer Age Statistical Inference gives a lucid guide to modern statistical inference for estimation, hypothesis testing, and prediction. The book seamlessly integrates statistical thinking with computational thinking, while covering a broad range of powerful algorithms for learning from data. It is extraordinarily rare and valuable to have such a unified treatment of classical (and classic) statistical ideas and recent 'big data' and machine learning ideas. Accessible real-world examples and insightful remarks can be found throughout the book." Joseph K. Blitzstein, Harvard University, Massachusetts "Computer Age Statistical Inference offers a refreshing view of modern statistics. Algorithmics are put on equal footing with intuition, properties, and the abstract arguments behind them. The methods covered are indispensable to practicing statistical analysts in today's big data and big computing landscape." Robert Gramacy, University of Chicago Booth School of Business "Efron and Hastie are two immensely talented and accomplished scholars who have managed to brilliantly weave the fiber of 250 years of statistical inference into the more recent historical mechanization of computing. This book provides the reader with a mid-level overview of the last 60-some years by detailing the nuances of a statistical community that, historically, has been self-segregated into camps of Bayes, frequentist, and Fisher yet in more recent years has been unified by advances in computing. What is left to be explored is the emergence of, and role that, big data theory will have in bridging the gap between data science and statistical methodology. Whatever the outcome, the authors provide a vision of high-speed computing having tremendous pote

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