The use of statistics in business can be traced back hundreds of years. As early as 744 AD, statistics were used by Gerald of Wales to complete the first population census of Wales (1). It wasn’t long before merchants realized that statistics could be used to measure and quantify trade. The first record of this was in Florence. It was recorded in Giovanni Villani’s “Nuova Cronica”, in 1346 (1). Moreover, statistical methods were further adopted to help drive quality and in doing so helped contribute to the advancement of statistics itself. In 1504, William Sealy Gosset, chief brewer for Guinness in Dublin, devised the t-test (2) to measure consistency between batches of stout (1).
Read more.....
