Statistics for creativity support

Abstract

The main issue addressed by this chapter is an interpretation of statistics: is it just a functionalist set of tools for diverse measurements, or is it a toolbox for supporting creativity? We represent the latter opinion and try to describe our reasons for it. This chapteris organised as follows. After these introductory remarks, we review the concept of statistics as the grammar of technology development. We follow with lessons from applications of statistical tools for quality control in Japan. Methods for the statistical design of experimentsand their importance in applications are reviewed. The extension of theseapproaches of statistical experiment design to support experimental research in scientific and technological laboratories is discussed. These tools of designing experiments can be also modified for application in virtual laboratories. © 2007 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.