Introduction
Mathematics
Students study mathematics for a number of reasons. Some of you will make mathematics the centre of
your studies and you will find that a mathematics degree not only provides you with a deeper
understanding of the subject, but trains you to work through logical arguments and not accept illogical
ones. Others will study mathematics not for its own sake but to support their other studies. This is
particularly obvious in connection with the physical sciences, management, economics, computer science
and engineering. Mathematics is now also used extensively in business and the range of its applications
in the life and social sciences is constantly increasing.
Mathematics does not just consist of formulae. It consists of ideas, and to appreciate mathematics at a deeper level you must pass from the bare formulae to the ideas that lie behind them. Mathematical thought is one of the really great human achievements. Mathematics has been around for some 4000 years and has flourished in many countries. The genius of many has added to its stock of ideas. It has created an impressive order or structure which has a lasting quality. The study of its ideas, both past and present, contributes a great deal to everyone’s education.
Statistics
Statistics is a rapidly advancing science. It is a very broad subject with many branches. These range from statistical theory to its application in biology, forestry, medicine, social science, engineering, physics and economics. In fact, there are very few disciplines that don’t use statistics in some form. Some of the projects statisticians have been involved in are:
- measuring the rate that cystic fibrosis develops in lung tissue;
- describing the spatial distribution of wood fibre lengths in trees;
- monitoring endangered animals to detect critical rates of decline;
- estimating the working life of mechanical equipment before it requires repair;
- measuring the extent to which participation in group-therapy anger-management sessions reduces the chance of re-offending.
Statistics can be used to answer some very important scientific and commercial questions. The
challenge in statistics is to use appropriate sampling strategies and hypotheses with the necessary
analytical procedures to interpret the results.
Here at Canterbury there is a strong interest and expertise in statistical application in ecology, forestry, medicine, industrial engineering and social science, as well as in advances in theoretical and applied statistics and economics.