NATURE OF STATISTICAL KNOWLEDGE 99 



VII 



To sum the whole matter up : I have tried to 

 show that the statistical method in science has 

 been used to do two things. 



The first of these is a unique function of the 

 method — to furnish a description of a group of 

 objects or events in terms of the group's attributes 

 rather than those of the individuals composing 

 the group. Herein lies the great value of the 

 statistical method. It is, however, a descriptive 

 method only and has the limitations as a weapon 

 of research which that fact implies. 



The second purpose that the statistical method 

 has been called upon to accomplish is the predic- 

 tion of the individual case from a precise knowl- 

 edge of the group or mass. This involves some- 

 thing really additional to the statistical method per 

 se; namely, the mathematical theory of probabil- 

 ity. We have seen that this side of the statistical 

 method gives only a somewhat sterile kind of 

 knowledge so far as concerns individuals ; namely, 

 a knowledge of betting odds. The theory of prob- 

 ability grew up about the gaming table, not in the 

 laboratory. Its place in the methodology of sci- 

 ence is not an independent one. By it alone one 

 cannot discover new truths about phenomena. 

 But it is a highly important adjunct to other 

 modes of research. 



Plainly, however, one cannot regard statistical 



