Note on the Application of Recent Mathematical-Statistical Methods to Coal Mine Accidents, with Special Reference to Catastrophes in Coal Mines in the United States [Discussion]

(Begins on Page 5 of PDF) Mr. Fisher says in closing his paper, "My chief object in presenting the results was to call the attention of the members of the Society to the practical use of the modern researches on mathematical statistics." It is, however, difficult for the average student to follow this paper because it assumes familiarity with the details of these researches on mathematical statistics. With these the average American student is not familiar because they have been made by German, Swedish and Russian mathematicians whose works have not heretofore been summarized in English and have not been followed very closely in teaching mathematics either in the American universities or to actuarial and other students after leaving universities. Mr. Fisher's recent book "~mathematical Theory of Probabilities" is a first step toward relieving this difficulty, but unfortunately the second volume which, as I understand it, will deal more in detail with the methods used here is not yet available.