The Statistician and the Computer

This paper reviews the impact of the computer on the analysis and interpretation of data. It suggests the need for professional statisticians to recognize that almost all future analysis of data will be carried out by non-statisticians with the aid of statistical program packages. Therefore, the emphasis of statistical training for scientists, engineers, administrators and decision-makers should be on the design of data collection and the choice of appropriate methods of analysis. Both in the teaching of statistics and in the development of computer programs for statistical analysis there are important and urgent tasks to be addressed by professional statisticians.