Friday, August 18, 2006

C. Frederick Mosteller

The great statistician, Frederick Mosteller, died recently in Falls Church, Virginia. You can read his story here, here, and here.

I am personally saddened because I had the pleasure of chatting with Professor Mosteller at a meeting about 10 years ago between doctoral students and the steering committee of the Harvard School of Public Health. I knew we would be at the meeting together, so I brought along my copy of "Fundamentals of Exploratory Analysis of Variance," which he coedited with David C. Hoaglin and John W. Tukey. I picked up this book cheap as a library cast-off; otherwise it would have cost me $170 new. My fanboy intent was to get Mosteller's autograph in his book, so I made a bee-line for the seat next to his when the meeting started. During a break from discussing the doctoral student experience at Harvard, I leaned over to Professor Mosteller and shyly asked for his autograph. Until that moment, I had known him only by his redoubtable reputation -- founder of the Harvard statistics department, and all that -- and sitting next to him he seemed practically jovian with his bright eyes and mane of white hair. He must have been about 79 at the time.

When I asked for his autograph, he furrowed his brow ("Uh oh, that's the end of me," I thought), then a tremendous smile broke across his face. I suppose he was amused because he probably was rarely asked for his autograph, like a rock star. He was even more amused when I asked him to inscribe his book. When he uncapped his pen, I thought someone that supremely senior would have just signed "Fred" and handed back the book, but he took a moment to think before writing a revealing inscription: "Looking forward to applications." What a thing to write to a nameless doctoral student! It also told me that for Professor Mosteller the application of statistical theory, of which he was a master many times over, was at the forefront of his mind. A remarkable attitude in one who is as well known for his theoretical contributions as the practical questions to which he brought to bear his theoretical insight. It also reminded me of Pasteur's remark something to the effect, "There is no such thing as applied science, just the application of science." I also found Professor Mosteller's simple inscription to be extraordinary encouragement in the intellectual pursuit. I have never forgotten it.

After the initial awkwardness of my request, Professor Mosteller asked about my thesis work (in part, an application of generalized linear mixed models) and I was happy to hear his historical view of the techniques I was using. He was memorably warm and supportive toward this trainee, and thereby also set an example for me when engaging younger colleagues.

Blogger in beta migration

As soon as Blogger permits, I will migrate Rabbit Hole to Blogger in Beta. Meanwhile, enjoy my new blog on hydroponics (Hydroponic Hula), which I will be setting up on Blogger in Beta any second now.