One important idea is that science is a means whereby learning is achieved, not by mere theoretical speculation on the one hand, nor by the undirecte…

- George E. P. Box

To find out what happens to a system when you interfere with it you have to interfere with it (not just passively observe it).

- George E. P. Box

Statistics is, or should be, about scientific investigation and how to do it better, but many statisticians believe it is a branch of mathematics. No…

- George E. P. Box

Discovering the unexpected is more important than confirming the known.

- George E. P. Box

For the theory-practice iteration to work, the scientist must be, as it were, mentally ambidextrous; fascinated equally on the one hand by possible m…

- George E. P. Box

The old-fashioned idea of a good manager is one who is supposed to know all the answers, can solve every problem himself, and can give appropriate or…

- George E. P. Box

All models are approximations. Essentially, all models are wrong, but some are useful. However, the approximate nature of the model must always be bo…

- George E. P. Box

Management must provide employees with tools that will enable them to do their jobs better, and with encouragement to use these tools. In particular,…

- George E. P. Box

Just as the ability to devise simple but evocative models is the signature of the great scientist so overelaboration and overparameterization is ofte…

- George E. P. Box