Introduction to Error Analysis, third edition

John Taylor received his B.A. in math from Cambridge University in 1960 and his Ph.D. in theoretical physics from Berkeley in 1963. He is professor emeritus of physics and Presidential Teaching Scholar at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He is the author of some 40 articles in research journals; a book, Classical Mechanics; and three other textbooks, one of which, An Introduction to Error Analysis, has been translated into eleven foreign languages. He received a Distinguished Service Citation from the American Association of Physics Teachers and was named Colorado Professor of the Year in 1989. His television series Physics for Fun won an Emmy Award in 1990. He retired in 2005 and now lives in Washington, D.C.

• PART I1. Preliminary Description of Error Analysis2. How to Report and Use Uncertainties3. Propagation of Uncertainties4. Statistical Analysis of Random Uncertainties5. The Normal DistributionPART II6. Rejection of Data7. Weighted Averages8. Least-Squares Fitting9. Covariance and Correlation10. The Binomial Distribution11. The Poisson Distribution12. The Chi-Squared Test for a Distribution13. Bayesian StatisticsAPPENDICESA. Normal Error Integral, IB. Normal Error Integral, IIC. Probabilities for Correlation CoefficientsD. Probabilities for Chi SquaredE. Two Proofs Concerning Sample Standard DeviationsAnswers to Quick Checks and Odd-Numbered ProblemsIndex

The new chapter on Bayesian statistics is extremely clear and well written, and is another one of John Taylor’s fabulous expositions. I enjoyed how Taylor develops the subject by using it to answer questions about the effectiveness of a vaccine. Before reading this chapter I wondered what assumptions are needed to derive a numerical value for a vaccine’s effectiveness, and I also wondered about the data needed and the methods used. Lo and behold, all my questions were answered in this chapter! I definitely will buy the new edition of Error Analysis and I look forward to delving into the Bayesian statistics.