The relevance of statistical training

It is my intention to demonstrate in a very pragmatic way that statistics is a subject of vital importance; it enters substantially into the quantitative content of many (if not all) other professional studies. Statistical information is pervasive: a detailed analysis of The New York Times newspaper for Saturday 22 May 1982 will leave us in little doubt of this fact. The intelligent reading of such a newspaper, or of any other current information material, therefore makes a basic grounding in statistics essential for all citizens. This premise leads very naturally to a discussion of what a common core of statistical training should consist of, and how it might best be imparted to students in schools and colleges throughout the world.