ABSTRACT
The personal computer (PC) has changed everything — both for better and for worse — in the world of statistics. It can effortlessly produce precise calculations, eliminating the computational burden associated with statistics; one need only provide the right questions. With the minimal knowledge required to program it, which entails telling it where the input data reside, which statistical procedures and calculations are desired, and where the output should go, tasks such as testing and analysis, the tabulation of raw data into summary measures, as well as many others are fairly rote. The PC has advanced statistical thinking in the decision making process, as evidenced by visual displays, such as bar charts and line graphs, animated three-dimensional rotating plots, and interactive marketing models found in management presentations. The PC also facilitates support documentation, which includes the calculations for measures such as the mean profitability across market segments from a marketing database; statistical output is copied from the statistical software, then pasted into the presentation application. Interpreting the output and drawing conclusions still require human intervention.
