
Making Statistics Work
Information Theory and Bayesian Inference
$198.00
- Hardcover
320 pages
- Release Date
14 July 2026
Summary
Conventional “frequentist” methods that dominate the field of statistics are generally inconsistent and liable to catastrophic failure in some contexts. These weaknesses have become particularly concerning in relation to crises of replicability and credibility in science. Two alternatives have been proposed to address these flaws—classical Bayesian inference and the principle of maximum entropy—but the connections between them remain controversial.
Making Statistics Work pres…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780231222037 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0231222033 |
| Author: | Duncan Foley, Ellis Scharfenaker |
| Publisher: | Columbia University Press |
| Imprint: | Columbia University Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 320 |
| Release Date: | 14 July 2026 |
| Dimensions: | 235mm x 156mm |
What They're Saying
Critics Review
At last, a statistics book that engages the philosophical foundations of probability and fully develops their implications through to practice. Clear, rigorous, and refreshingly honest about assumptions, it sets a new standard and should be required reading for anyone serious about statistics. – Aubrey Clayton, author of Bernoulli’s Fallacy: Statistical Illogic and the Crisis of Modern ScienceIn Making Statistics Work, Duncan K. Foley and Ellis Scharfenaker combine information theory, Bayesian updating, and probability theory into a single logical framework for statistical inference under imperfect and insufficient information. The authors provide many examples, making the book very accessible. This is a valuable resource for scientists, students, and teachers across disciplines. – Amos Golan, American University and the Santa Fe InstituteMaking Statistics Work introduces a robust framework that brings together information theory and Bayesian inference through entropy-maximizing priors. Offering both readability and rigor, this book is a refreshing alternative to the conventional statistical education. – Jangho Yang, University of Waterloo
About The Author
Duncan Foley
Duncan K. Foley is the Leo Model Professor Emeritus of Economics at the New School for Social Research. He is the author of Understanding Capital: Marx’s Economic Theory (1986) and Adam’s Fallacy: A Guide to Economic Theology (2006) and coauthor of Growth and Distribution (second edition, 2019), among other books.
Ellis Scharfenaker is an associate professor of economics at the University of Utah. His research integrates Bayesian inference, information theory, and political economy to study industrial dynamics and income distribution.
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