>[...] In
>developing a curriculum for a basic level (prerequisite basic HS
>algebra) statistics class, we are including a probability unit. This
>has been challenged as unnecessary. I guess I have two related
>questions.
>Is there a historical reason that probability is included in basic
>statistics?
Yes. Statistics without probability theory is blind.
>Has probability "always" been included in basic statistics classes?
Unfortunately no.
As someone who has taught probablity and statistics to maths students, and
statistical methods to science students as well as to civil servants, I am
horrified by the `challenge' mentioned by Mike Robinson. The attitude it
reflects is lamentably quite common among philistine so-called scientists,
who use statistical methods as mere recipes, without bothering about the
underlying theory--probability theory. Teaching students in this way is
harmful and anti-scientific, as it encourages them to follow authority
blindly. It is the academic analogue of fascism and other forms of
anti-humanism.
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