Lecture 1: Introduction
January 14, 2026Read and watch everything
This is BioStatistics!
Let me be blunt: I am passionate about biostatistics, teaching this subject, and interacting with students! I hope we can create a supportive and enjoyable environment for you to develop strong skills in data analysis and data science as applied to biology. You’ve probably noticed that all disciplines use statistics. Therefore, having a solid foundation in biostatistics will help you excel in any field you choose, including those outside of biology.
Statistics and its application to biology form a rich and exciting field. Unlike many areas of study, statistics is everywhere and influences our daily lives. From small decisions, like whether to take an umbrella, to significant undertakings such as large-scale drug trials—statistics plays a critical role. It even saves lives, both human and non-human. Statistics is omnipresent, just like biology, and both are crucial to life. What a fantastic combination!
However, statistics require a blend of subjective and objective thinking that challenges our intellectual capacities in wonderful ways. This can be exciting but also overwhelming for some. Although statistics is all around us, it is not always accessible to everyone. Let’s work to change that. One of the most important aspects of biology is understanding variation—whether it’s among genes, individual cells, behaviors, species, populations, communities, or ecosystems. Grasping the concept of variation is essential in biology, and statistics is fundamentally about understanding variation (or more precisely, variance).
Please don’t hesitate to let me know how we can improve this course and the WebBook. Remember, this is our course! Use this space to share your ideas and questions about biology and explore how to address these questions using statistics.
Statistical literacy
This article by Milo Schield, a faculty member at Augsburg College, discusses statistical literacy and touches on many topics that will be covered in BIOL322. While you may not fully understand all the concepts yet, the article is written to help you quickly become familiar with essential statistical ideas.
Why you should love statistics?
by Alan Smith, Editor at the Financial Times in London
Key messages:
Numeracy in society is surprisingly low; Smith begins by discussing national surveys showing that many adults lack basic numeracy skills — for example, a UK survey found nearly half of working-age adults didn’t meet a basic level of numerical skill, and this didn’t improve significantly over time.
Statistics has an image problem; many people, even mathematically educated ones, dislike statistics because it’s about uncertainty and probability, not the precise answers typical in pure mathematics. But that’s exactly what makes it valuable.
Our perceptions often don’t match reality; Smith tells about a survey in Japan asking Japanese people “for every 100 Japanese people, how many of them you think live in rural areas?” The answer was an average about 50% of Japanese people lived in rural areas - but the official figure is 7 people over 100 living in rural areas.
Statistics can surprise us and make us think differently; rather than just crunching numbers, good statistics reveals truths about society we didn’t expect — and that’s part of its power and beauty.
One of Smith’s conclusion about understanding numbers is that “We can be blind to the obvious, and we are also blind to our blindness.”
This is Statistics!
by Genevera Allen, Faculty at Rice University
Watch the video on YouTube:
Why you should love statistics
Big message: Statistics is a great and vibrant field
Teach statistics before calculus!
by Arthur Benjamin, Faculty at Harvey Mudd College
Big message: Statistics is everywhere and should be taught in the early days of education
The importance of statistics
by Keon West, Faculty at University of London
Watch the video on YouTube:
The importance of statistics
Big message: Statistics can be difficult, but they are key to understanding the world
Slides