Richard von Mises Quotes

Richard Edler von Mises was an Austrian scientist and mathematician who worked on solid mechanics, fluid mechanics, aerodynamics, aeronautics, statistics and probability theory. He held the position of Gordon McKay Professor of Aerodynamics and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. He described his work in his own words shortly before his death as being on



"... practical analysis, integral and differential equations, mechanics, hydrodynamics and aerodynamics, constructive geometry, probability calculus, statistics and philosophy."Although best known for his mathematical work, Mises also contributed to the philosophy of science as a neo-positivist, following the line of Ernst Mach. Historians of the Vienna Circle of logical empiricism recognize a "first phase" from 1907 through 1914 with Philipp Frank, Hans Hahn, and Otto Neurath. His older brother, Ludwig von Mises, held an opposite point of view with respect to positivism and epistemology.During his time in Istanbul, Mises maintained close contact with Philipp Frank, a logical positivist and Professor of Physics in Prague until 1938. His literary interests included the Austrian novelist Robert Musil and the poet Rainer Maria Rilke, on whom he became a recognized expert. Wikipedia  

✵ 19. April 1883 – 14. July 1953
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Richard von Mises: 20 quotes0 likes

Famous Richard von Mises Quotes

“We can only hope that statisticians will return to the use of the simple, lucid reasoning of Bayes's conceptions, and accord to the likelihood theory its proper role.”

Richard von Mises

Fifth Lecture, Applications in Statistics and the Theory of Errors, p. 159
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“The main interest of physical statistics lies in fact not so much in the distribution of the phenomena in space, but rather in their succession in time.”

Richard von Mises

Sixth Lecture, Statistical Problems in Physics, p. 187
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“Apart from this older generation, there is scarcely a modern mathematician who still adheres without reservation to the classical theory of probability. The majority have more or less accepted the frequency definition.”

Richard von Mises

Third Lecture, Critical Discussion of the Foundations of Probability, p. 81
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“The theory of probability can never lead to a definite statement concerning a single event.”

Richard von Mises

Second Lecture, The Elements of the Theory of Probability, p. 33
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

Richard von Mises Quotes about science

“It has been asserted - and this is no overstatement - that whereas other sciences draw their conclusions from what we know, the science of probability derives its most important results from what we do not know.”

Richard von Mises

Second Lecture, The Elements of the Theory of Probability, p. 30
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

Richard von Mises Quotes

“Starting from a logically clear concept of probability, based on experience, using arguments which are usually called statistical, we can discover truth in wide domains of human interest.”

Richard von Mises

Sixth Lecture, Statistical Problems in Physics, p. 220
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“Equally possible cases do not always exist, e. g, they are not present in the game with a biased die, or in life insurance. Strictly speaking, the propositions of the classical theory are therefore no applicable to these cases.”

Richard von Mises

Third Lecture, Critical Discussion of the Foundations of Probability, p. 80
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“It is useful to have a short expression for denoting the whole of the probabilities attached to the different attributes in a collective. We shall use for this purpose the word distribution.”

Richard von Mises

Second Lecture, The Elements of the Theory of Probability, p. 35 (See also: probability space)
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“No contradiction exists, if the events are correctly interpreted.”

Richard von Mises

Fifth Lecture, Applications in Statistics and the Theory of Errors, p. 142
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“The mean and variance are unambiguously determined by the distribution, but a distribution is, of course, not determined by its mean and variance: A number of different distributions have the same mean and the same variance.”

Richard von Mises

Sixth Lecture, Statistical Problems in Physics, p. 212
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“In games of chance, in the problems of insurance, and in the molecular processes we find events repeating themselves again and again. They are mass phenomena or repetitive events.”

Richard von Mises

First Lecture, The Definition of Probability, p. 10
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“If the concept of probability and the formulae of the theory of probability are used without a clear understanding of the collectives involved, one may arrive at entirely misleading results.”

Richard von Mises

Fifth Lecture, Applications in Statistics and the Theory of Errors, p. 166
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

“Mass phenomena to which the theory of probability does not apply are, of course, of common occurrence.”

Richard von Mises

Fifth Lecture, Applications in Statistics and the Theory of Errors, p. 141
Probability, Statistics And Truth - Second Revised English Edition - (1957)

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