Educational Research - the Ethics and Aesthetics of Statistics

10 The Good, the Beautiful and the Literate: Making Statistics Accessible for Action 147
regard statistics as the ugly sibling of the mathematical family. But, as mentioned
above, there is a clear connection between statistics and deductive, formalised
mathematics. Even after Kolmogorov really changed the subject through his
axiomatic-algebraic approach (which made it possible to calculate probabilities
in cases that were previously excluded) statistics does not seem to share in the
aesthetic standards of ‘pure’ mathematics. 2
• Applied statistics and ethics: Undoubtedly, is the area where most of us have
immediate ideas about what the problems are. Surely each time we apply statistical
methods to some real-life problem, the first question must be whether the
application is, in some sense, acceptable. Probability theory and statistics really
took off in the seventeenth century once international sea trade bloomed (e.g.
Hacking, 1975). Insurances became acceptable up to and including not merely a
ship’s load but its crew as well. From that moment onwards, bets could be made
with human life as its literal stake. In that sense it is obvious that ethics enter into
the discussion.
• Applied statistics and aesthetics: at first sight, this combination might seem rather
odd. It would seem that we are talking here about applications and what could be
the aesthetic value of an application? However, we take a different tack. When
applied, the tool that is being used has to become very concrete. It cannot remain
on an abstract plane, but must be ‘translated’ or ‘transformed’ into something
concrete. Anything concrete has a specific form and where specific forms are
present, aesthetic considerations must come into play. A comparison with architecture
(or perhaps music as well?) seems apt in this context. On the one hand,
the plans surely have an aesthetic value of their own. On the other hand, once the
plan has been implemented through the construction of a concrete building, the
building has aesthetic qualities of its own that are lacking in the plans. Think of
the aesthetic value a building has for those either living in it or looking at it from
the outside.
In addition, it must be clear that the four cases are not independent from one
another. Thus, even if it is our aim to focus on the third and fourth case, it is obvious
that the two other cases will intervene time and again to provide important insights
or to support the claims made. To avoid dividing this chapter up into two separate
sections on ethics and aesthetics, we propose to introduce a common element that
will allow us to keep both dimensions in view. More specifically, in order to make
connections with the philosophy of educational theory, we will focus on the representation
of statistics or, if you like, its visualisation. We believe that visualisation
is directly connected with an important concept, in terms of education and educational
views, namely, accessibility or, as it is sometimes expressed, literacy. When
statistical data are presented to a particular audience, how many of its members
have ‘true’ access to the data presented? By this we mean how many effectively
understand what is presented to them and can thus be considered literate about the
subject? Note that, once again, different levels can (and should) be distinguished:
problems of access can occur in the collecting of data to support a (quantitatively