Former Commonwealth statistician Ian Castles discusses the Australian and global implications of today's mania for measurement.
We live in an age where, it seems, everything is calculated, evaluated, given a numerical value. But are numbers becoming too important? Are we at risk of ignoring or denigrating other aspects of life, other ways of describing what it means to be human? And if so, what are the implications for us?
In the '2002 Boyer Lectures', former Commonwealth statistician Ian Castles gives a stimulating and logical overview of the issues involved in statistical analysis, arguing strongly in favour of a more balanced approach to mathematical imperatives.
