ABSTRACT
In the 16th century, the House of Habsburg controlled much of Central Europe, the Netherlands, and Spain, as well as Spain's colonies in the Americas. The House was maybe the first true world power, with the Sun always shining on some portion of it. Its ruler was also Holy Roman Emperor, and his seat of power was Prague. Scientists also make golems. The golems rarely have physical form, but they too are often made of clay, living in silicon as computer code. These golems are scientific models. But these golems have real effects on the world, through the predictions they make and the intuitions they challenge or inspire. Unfortunately, while experienced statisticians grasp the unity of these procedures, students and researchers rarely do. Advanced courses in statistics do emphasize engineering principles, but most scientists never get that far. A lot can go wrong with statistical inference, and this is one reason that beginners are so anxious about it.
