Statistics are an invaluable tool; without which, we’d have difficulty in making sense of the world around us. Without statistics, there’d be no standard for measuring data. Without this standard, we’d lose control and predictability over our environment. Just imagine not being able to know what the weather is going to be like tomorrow, or if there’s a storm coming, or if the price of food is going to increase.
While it is true that we can’t predict our future, we can make inferences based on events from the past and recorded information. And statistics is the tool that makes it all possible.
As a tribute to the hard-working statisticians all over the world and in celebrating the importance of statistics, October 20 was declared World Statistics Day. First commemorated on October 20, 2010, the United Nations (UN) General Assembly put forth this this special day in recognition of the importance of statistics in shaping our societies.
The UN reported that statistics help decision makers develop informed policies that impact millions of people. Its importance trickles down to each of member of society and its presence is felt in a wide range of fields. The developments and future projections in the rapidly expanding field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) would not have been possible if not for the volumes of data gathered and interpreted through statistics. Likewise, innovations in statistics and processes involving data have been modernized and thoroughly revolutionized through ICT.
With technology as the fundamental driver of the modernization of measuring statistics and the emergent “data revolution”, the UN has stated that investments in innovations are required at all levels, but especially in those institutions which are lagging behind. According to them, an urgent effort needs to be made to increase access to information technologies. They believe this can be achieved by increasing access to broadband, increasing literacy, including adult literacy, and increasing the use of ICT in schools worldwide, to ensure that all people, including the poorest, have access to the technologies that can improve their lives.
Innovation is a result of statistcics as they better help us to come up with solutions to challenges and difficulties. Innovation is the offspring of statistics and innovation cannot survive without data and statistics.
@nelson.madzima
