I need to learn the fundamentals of statistics

[KrazyHorse]

There will be certain things which don't make sense if you don't already know thermodynamics. And you need a solid understanding of calculus and differential equations.

And anything after chapter 7 will be lost on you, as it deals with the statistics of quantum mechanical systems.

[VetLegion]

Start with wikipedia and work from the links in the bottom of the articles. That's what I do.

[KrazyHorse]

Let me see if I can remember the chapters from memory (book's at home right now)

Chap 1: random walk problem, normal and poisson distributions
Chap 2: statistical ensembles, density of states, interaction between ensembles
Chap 3: thermal equilibrium, temperature, entropy, statistical calculation of thermodynamic properties
Chap 4: Heat, work, heat capacity, more entropy
Chap 5: Ideal gases, maxwell relations, heat engines
Chap 6: Grand canonical ensemble, calculation of various quantities associated with it
Chap 7: Partition function, application to calculation of thermodynamic quantities
Chap 8: Chemical and thermal equilibria
Chap 9: Quantum statistics
Chap 10: Interacting systems
Chap 11: Magnetism
Chap 12, 13, 14: Transport theory
Chap 15: Irreversible processes

[LordShiva]

Originally posted by KrazyHorse
Statistical and Thermal Physics (Reif)

I preferred Schwabl to Reif.

[KrazyHorse]

I couldn't learn out of it. Some people hate Reif, but I liked it.

[Kuciwalker]

Hm. My statistics textbooks is "Mathematical Statistics with Applications" by Wckerly, Mendenhall and Scheaffer. I have no idea how good it is comparitively. It's certainly a different focus than the text KH mentioned.

[Kuciwalker]

OTOH, this is towards an operations research major, not a physics one.

[KrazyHorse]

Physicists don't have to take a statistics class where I went to school. We were expected to pick it up as we went...

[Kuciwalker]

I'm on the second of five we need.

[KrazyHorse]

Five?

Good lord. I'm sorry.

[KrazyHorse]

What are you doing right now?

[Kuciwalker]

Statistics Courses
12. Intro Prob & Stat I
13. Intro Prob & Stats II <- this one
14. Modern Regression
15. Topic in Data Analysis
16. Intro to Prob Models

[KrazyHorse]

Can you link the syllabi for those courses?

[Kuciwalker]

For the one I'm taking now, which is a direct continuation (same professor even) of the first:

OVERVIEW

In recent years, the growth of statistics has made itself felt in almost every phase of human activity.
Statistics no longer consists merely of the collection of data and their presentation in charts and tables
(descriptive statistics) - it is now considered to encompass the science of basing inferences on observed
data and the entire problem of making decisions in the face of uncertainty (inferential statistics). This
covers considerable ground since uncertainties are met when we flip a coin, when a drug company
evaluates the efficacy of a new drug, when an actuary determines life expectancy, when a quality
control engineer accepts or rejects manufactured products, when a teacher compares the abilities of
students, when an economist forecasts market trends, when a newspaper predicts an election, and so
forth.

It would be presumptuous to say that statistics, in its present state of development, can handle
all situations involving uncertainties, but new techniques are constantly being developed and modern
statistics can, at least, provide the framework for looking at these situations in a logical and systematic
fashion. In other words, statistics provides the formalisms that are needed to study situations involving
uncertainties.

This course, using the probability theory developed in a mathematical probability class, such as36-225,
deals with the basic ideas and methods of analyzing data and making inferences about an unkown pop-
ulation based on information contained in a sample. We will study the formalisms behind frequently
used statistical methods, and develop a link between statistical theory and practice. In addition, we
will emphasize the application of statistical methods and the interpretation and the analysis of data.

OBJECTIVES

1. To introduce the basic ideas and methods that underlie the mathematical theory of statistics.
2. To develop and use methods for summarizing and evaluating numerical data.
3. To develop skills in the applications of statistical methods to problems in the sciences and
the social sciences, including specication of models, assessment of model assumptions, and
interpretation of results.
4. To learn to use a statistical package, e.g., MINITAB, to analyze data.

[KrazyHorse]

That still sounds fairly basic.