Statistics and Statistical Geology
Statistics:
Science of
exploring, analyzing and summarizing data
The output of
many natural systems exhibits apparent randomness, which is usually
caused by extreme
sensitivity to initial
conditions. Initial conditions and physical
laws of such
systems cannot be
inferred from the output.
Measurements are a finite sample
of the output
(all possible realisations of the
system).
Statistical models
may be used to describe such measurements in the absence of a physical
model.
Geological modeling
software :
Designed by
statisticians who know little about geology
Applied by
geologists / engineers who know little about statistics
Many things can and
will go wrong !
Statistics is a very
powerful geological modeling tool, but only when it is firmly supported by
geological knowledge
"...when you
can measure what you are speaking about and express it in numbers, you know
something about it; but when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge
is of a meager and unsatisfactory kind..." Lord
Kelvin”