As the weather turns warmer, many a student's thoughts turn to graduation. But what about after graduation? Unfortunately, many of us choose to use our newly learned powers for evil, and not for good. Maybe it's time to sit back and reflect on what we owe the world, rather than what the world owes us. Let me give you an example.

Excatly 100 years ago, in 1898, a young man named William Sealey Gosset graduated from New College Oxford with a degree in Mathematics and Chemistry. Though he could have made his fortune and fame in the rough and tumble world of competitive Mathematical Chemistry, he instead chose to devote his energy to directly improving the life of millions of people around the world. He joined the Guiness brewery in Dublin.

His work on small samples for quality control led to his invention of the t-test. Because they had lawyers in 1898, he had to publish under the pseudonym "Student" - hence the "Student t-test". As Pearson says in "Studies in the History of Statistics and Probability",

To many in the statistical world "Student" was regarded as a statistical advisor to Guinness's brewery, to others he appeared to be a brewer devoting his spare time to statistics. ... though there is some truth in both these ideas they miss the central point, which was the intimate connection between his statistical research and the practical problems on which he was engaged.

Indeed. Next time you have a beer, thank William Gosset, and next time you perform a t-test, have a Guiness.

For more information on exciting career opportunities in brewing and Artificial Intelligence, come to the informational session at this week's

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7th floor playroom March 27, 1998 5:30pm