John Tukey

John Tukey (16 June 1915 – 26 July 2000) was an American statistician.

Sourced

• Far better an approximate answer to the right question, which is often vague, than an exact answer to the wrong question, which can always be made precise.
  • The future of data analysis. Annals of Mathematical Statistics 33 (1), (1962), page 13.
  • Variant: "An approximate answer to the right question is worth a great deal more than a precise answer to the wrong question." "as the renowned statistician John Tukey once reportedly said," according to Super Freakonomics page 224.

• The combination of some data and an aching desire for an answer does not ensure that a reasonable answer can be extracted from a given body of data.
  • Sunset salvo. The American Statistician 40 (1). Online at http://www.jstor.org/pss/2683137

• The tool that is so dull that you cannot cut yourself on it is not likely to be sharp enough to be either useful or helpful.
  • The Technical Tools of Statistics. The American Statistician 34 (1). Online at https://www.jstor.org/stable/2682374