On Statistics: What is Statistics?

“Statistics is a science which ought to be honourable, the basis of many most important sciences; but it is not to be carried on by steam, this science, any more than others are; a wise hand is requisite for carrying it on. Conclusive facts are inseparable from unconclusive except by a head that already understands and knows.” (Thomas Carlyle, “Critical and Miscellaneous Essays”, 1838)

“To some people, statistics is ‘quartered pies, cute little battleships and tapering rows of sturdy soldiers in diversified uniforms’. To others, it is columns and columns of numerical facts. Many regard it as a branch of economics. The beginning student of the subject considers it to be largely mathematics.” (The Editors, “Statistics, The Physical Sciences and Engineering”, The American Statistician, Vol. 2, No. 4, 1948)

"Statistics is that branch of mathematics which deals with the accumulation and analysis of quantitative data." (David B MacNeil, "Modern Mathematics for the Practical Man", 1963)

“Statistics is the branch of scientific method which deals with the data obtained by counting or measuring the properties of populations of natural phenomena.” (Sir Maurice G Kendall & Alan Stuart, “The Advanced Theory of Statistics”, 1963)

“Statistics may be defined as the discipline concerned with the treatment of numerical data derived from groups of individuals.” (Peter Armitage, “Statistical Methods in Medical Research”, 1971)

“[…] statistics is the science that deals with distributions and proportions in actual (large but finite) classes (also called ‘populations’, ‘aggregates’, ‘ensembles’) of actual things.” (Bas C van Frassen, “The Scientic Image”, 1980)

“We provisionally define statistics as the study of how information should be employed to reflect on, and give guidance for action in, a practical situation involving uncertainty.” (Vic Barnett, “Comparative Statistical Inference” 2nd Ed., 1982)

“[Statistics] is the technology of extracting meaning from data.” (David J Hand, “Statistics: A Very Short Introduction”, 2008)

“[Statistics] is the technology of handling uncertainty.” (David J Hand, “Statistics: A Very Short Introduction”, 2008)

“[…] statistics is the key discipline for predicting the future or for making inferences about the unknown, or for producing convenient summaries of data.” (David J Hand, “Statistics: A Very Short Introduction”, 2008)

“[Statistics: used with a plural verb] facts or data, either numerical or nonnumerical, organized and summarized so as to provide useful and accessible information about a particular subject.” (Neil A Weiss, "Introductory Statistics" 10th Ed., 2017)

“[Statistics: used with a singular verb] the science of organizing and summarizing numerical or nonnumerical information.” (Neil A Weiss, "Introductory Statistics" 10th Ed., 2017)

“Statistics is the science of finding relationships and actionable insights from data.” (Nate Silver)

“Statistics is the science, the art, the philosophy, and the technique of making inferences from the particular to the general.” (John W Tukey)