Kenzie Bosmeny

December 12, 2014

Math 211

Honors Contract

The Life of a Statistician

Shakauala Devi once said, “Without mathematics, there’s nothing you can do.

Everything around you in mathematics. Everything around you is numbers.” Ron Fisher, known for this study on Variance, is a statistician, whose work is still valued and respected today. His life was very normal, and yet, he was able to leave a huge impact on the world

(Wikipedia contributors).

Coming from a successful family, Fisher was born in East Finchery England. Quickly, he began to stand out as an exceptional student. By the age of 16, Fisher won a prestigious medal for a competitive essay contest. Interestingly enough, Fisher actually suffered greatly from poor eyesight. However, in time, he was able to overcome this obstacle, and utilize it for its’ potential. With the aid of a tutor Fisher started to understand how to visualize, and understand complex math problems. Eventually, this niche would lead to his ultimate success as a mathematician (Wikipedia contributors). In later years, Fisher developed his curiosity in biology,

biometry, and eugenics. In fact, with some of his classmates,

Fisher formed a Eugenics Society at the University of

Cambridge. Despite all of these accomplishments, in 1912,

Fisher’s tutor gave the student a poor recommendation

because, without eyesight and the ability to visually write

down his work. Then, unable to pass the British military exam,

Fisher became a statistician for the city of London. In his leisure time, he also became a teacher for Physics, and math (Wikipedia contributors).

By 1917, Fisher married Eileen Guinness. Making a life out of farming, the two lived a very sad, and impoverished life, living through most of their marriage on food coupons.

However, during this period Fisher started to focus his theories, and he started writing the

Eugenic Reviews. Through this research, he developed more of a curiosity for genetic and statistical work.

Eventually, Fisher took the next step, and published more serious work. In his famous, “The Correlation Between Relatives on the Supposition of Mendelian Inheritance,” he introduced to the world, is analysis of variance. For the time period, and today, his analysis and work, is truly revolutionary in the world of statistics.

As Richard Courant once said, “Mathematics as an expression of the human mind reflects the active will, the contemplative reason, and the desire for aesthetic perfection. Its basic elements are logic are institution, analysis and construction, generality, and individuality.” Ronald Fisher was truly an innovator in the mathematics world. Starting off young with a weakness, Fisher was able to turn his life of sadness, into a success story. Fisher worked hard every step of the way, and in the end, he was a truly revolutionary man in the world of statistics.

Works Cited Wikipedia contributors. "Ronald Fisher." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 8 Dec. 2014. Web. 13 Dec. 2014.