Statistically Speaking is a book of quotations. It has, for the first time, brought together in one easily accessible form the best expressed thoughts that are especially illuminating and pertinent to the disciplines of probability and statistics. Some of the quotations are profound, others are wise, some are witty, but none are frivolous. Quotations from the most famous men and women lie in good company with those from unknown wits. You may not find all the quoted ’jewels’ that exist, but we are certain that you will find a great number of them here. We believe that Benjamin Franklin was correct when he said that “Nothing gives an author so much pleasure as to find his work respectfully quoted...”.

Statistically Speaking is also an aid for the individual who loves to quote - and to quote correctly. “Always verify your quotations” was advice given to Dean John William Bourgen, then fellow of Oriel College, by Dr Martin Joseph Routh. That advice was given over 150 years ago and is still true today. Frequently, books on quotations will have subtle changes to the quotation, changes to punctuation, slight changes to the wording, even misleading information in the attribution, so that the compiler will know if someone used a quotation from ‘their’ book. We attempted to verify each and every one of the quotations in this book to ensure that they are correct.