I believe sanity and realism can be restored to the teaching of Mathematical Statistics most easily and directly by entrusting such teaching largely to men and women who have had personal experience of research in the Natural Sciences.
Interpretation
The teaching of Mathematical Statistics should be handled by those with practical research experience in the Natural Sciences.
In this quote, Ronald Fisher emphasizes the importance of having educators in Mathematical Statistics who possess firsthand experience in the Natural Sciences. He argues that such teachers can bring sanity and realism to the subject, as they understand its application and relevance through actual research, potentially leading to more effective and grounded instruction.
In practice
In a discussion about the importance of qualified educators, this quote can highlight the value of practical experience.
No isolated experiment, however significant in itself, can suffice for the experimental demonstration of any natural phenomenon; for the "one chance in a million" will undoubtedly occur, with no less and no more than its appropriate frequency, however surprised we may be that it should occur to us.
To consult the statistician after an experiment is finished is often merely to ask him to conduct a post mortem examination. He can perhaps say what the experiment died of.
I've got two daughters. 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don't want them punished with a baby.
I believe that we should read only those books that bite and sting us. If a book we are reading does not rouse us with a blow to the head, then why read it?
The best way to get kids to read a book is to say: 'This book is not appropriate for your age, and it has all sorts of horrible things in it like sex and death and some really big and complicated ideas, and you're better off not touching it until you're all grown up. I'm going to put it on this shelf and leave the room for a while. Don't open it.
You can control and censor a child's reading, but you can't control her interpretations; no one can guess how a message that to adults seems banal or ridiculous or outmoded will alter itself and evolve inside the darkness of a child's heart.
Books are the windows through which the soul looks out.
One of my great laments is that education today seems to have... be less about passion and more about process, more about tactic or technique.
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