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Historical Background

In: The Laplace Distribution and Generalizations

Author

Listed:
  • Samuel Kotz

    (George Washington University, Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering)

  • Tomaz J. Kozubowski

    (University of Nevada, Department of Mathematics)

  • Krzysztof Podgórski

    (Indiana University—Purdue University, Department of Mathematical Sciences)

Abstract

Over 75 years ago in a paper that appeared in the 1923 issue of the Journal of American Statistical Association (pp. 841–852) entitled “First and Second Laws of Error,” the late professor and head of vital statistics at the Harvard School of Public Health, Edwin Bidwell Wilson (1879–1964)1 concurs with economics professor W.L. Crum’s conclusions expressed in a paper published in the same journal in March 1923, entitled “The Use of the Median in Determining Seasonal Variation” (pp. 607–614) that “a good many series of data from economic sources probably may be better treated by the median than by the mean.” These remarks may be viewed as revolutionary at the period of unquestionable dominance of the arithmetic mean and normal distribution in statistical theory. E.B. Wilson reminds us that the first two laws of error both originated with P.S. Laplace. The first law, presented in 1774, states that the frequency of an error could be expressed as an exponential function of the numerical magnitude of the error, disregarding sign, or equivalently that the logarithm of the frequency of an error (without regard to sign) is a linear function of the error.

Suggested Citation

  • Samuel Kotz & Tomaz J. Kozubowski & Krzysztof Podgórski, 2001. "Historical Background," Springer Books, in: The Laplace Distribution and Generalizations, chapter 1, pages 3-13, Springer.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:sprchp:978-1-4612-0173-1_1
    DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4612-0173-1_1
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