Book with Bayesian statistics banned in China
Andrew Gelman, a professor of statistics and political science, said on a blog at Columbia University that his book, Data Analysis Using Regression and Multilevel / Hierarchical Models (ISBN-13: 9780521686891 ), was banned from publishing in China. Local publications Posts & Telecommunications Press (PTP), reported that "the book did not receive the approval of the authorities because of various politically sensitive materials in the text."
What kind of materials are “politically sensitive” in a mathematical textbook - not reported, but Gelman has suggestions on this subject. Harvard mathematician colleague Xiao-Li Meng (Xiao-Li Meng) once told him that China does not study Bayesian statistics, because the idea of a priori probability allegedly contradicts the communist theory (probably, it was a joke).
Gelman is the author of several scientific papers on the statistical probability of voting results in elections and related topics, so the book could well have been such "undesirable" content - some bad examples. The Chinese authorities have filtered out the publication, most likely for this very reason. Well, the book on analyzing data with a note on the cover of "Forbidden in China" will definitely be better sold on Amazon.
Nevertheless, the author argues a lot and interestingly how closely statistical science and politics are connected. This is especially true of mathematicians studying Bayesian statistics. As for the English priest Thomas Bayes, nothing is particularly known, but one of the first applied Bayesionists, Pierre-Simon Laplace, took an active part in the French Revolution and was friends with Bonaparte.
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If we compare different formulas of probability distribution , they give different results on the same data set. Much depends on what data will come in the future. In different conditions, given our expectation of a change in indicators when new data is received in the future, it is possible to consider the use of either one or another method acceptable. In this sense, Gelman believes, the vocabulary and slogans of statisticians are very similar to political argumentation.
What kind of materials are “politically sensitive” in a mathematical textbook - not reported, but Gelman has suggestions on this subject. Harvard mathematician colleague Xiao-Li Meng (Xiao-Li Meng) once told him that China does not study Bayesian statistics, because the idea of a priori probability allegedly contradicts the communist theory (probably, it was a joke).
Gelman is the author of several scientific papers on the statistical probability of voting results in elections and related topics, so the book could well have been such "undesirable" content - some bad examples. The Chinese authorities have filtered out the publication, most likely for this very reason. Well, the book on analyzing data with a note on the cover of "Forbidden in China" will definitely be better sold on Amazon.
Nevertheless, the author argues a lot and interestingly how closely statistical science and politics are connected. This is especially true of mathematicians studying Bayesian statistics. As for the English priest Thomas Bayes, nothing is particularly known, but one of the first applied Bayesionists, Pierre-Simon Laplace, took an active part in the French Revolution and was friends with Bonaparte.
')
If we compare different formulas of probability distribution , they give different results on the same data set. Much depends on what data will come in the future. In different conditions, given our expectation of a change in indicators when new data is received in the future, it is possible to consider the use of either one or another method acceptable. In this sense, Gelman believes, the vocabulary and slogans of statisticians are very similar to political argumentation.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/111656/
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