A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the Universe

“Statistics is a way of analyzing data and discovering the inner hidden secrets being concealed by the data,” says Donald Richards, former Member in the School of Mathematics. “Can we find patterns that tell us that climate change is underway? Can we find patterns that suggest that bitcoin has topped out? That’s what we’re constantly searching for—patterns.”

The patterns can be subtle. However, the search for them is not esoteric, in his view, but rather “the only thing that anybody with brains should be doing with their life.”

Read more of the interview by former Director's Visitor Natalie Wolchover at Quanta.