Barry D. Nussbaum
I think Nick Beyler’s best sentence comes at the very end of his February 2025 STATtr@k column, “Being a Statistician in the Age of Data Science: Fleeting Advice from a Mid-Career, Card-Carrying Statistician.” He asks, “Want to collaborate on something?” That’s the key to all our statistical work. To have impact, we use our talents as part of a team.
As Beyler notes in his second-best sentence: “I love … being a trusted partner among colleagues who respect what I bring to the table.”
This emphasis on collaboration is embedded in the American Statistical Association’s Statement on the Role of Statistics in Data Science (2015) and its updated version, the Statement on the Role of Statistics in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (2023).
Three statisticians go deer hunting with bows and arrows. They spot a big buck and take aim. One shoots and his arrow flies off three meters to the right. The second shoots and his arrow flies off three meters to the left. The third statistician jumps up and down yelling, “We hit it! We hit it!”
As for concern about the title of statistician, think of Shakespeare’s line from Romeo and Juliet: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose /By any other name would smell as sweet.” My doctorate in operations research did not stop me from being the chief statistician of the US Environmental Protection Agency for seven years, nor did it stop me from being president of the ASA in 2017. I also have some experience in stand-up comedy. Audiences love self-deprecating humor. When you next hear your favorite joke about the three statisticians who go hunting, keep a straight face. When the punch line—“we hit it”—arrives, stoically nod your head and say, “Yes, of course!”
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