KARL PEARSON: CONTRIBUTIONS TO SCIENCE AND WORKS - SCIENCE - 2025

Karl Pearson was a British scientist who, from his studies and research, came to be considered the father of biostatistics and mathematical statistics. The area in which he excelled was mathematics, for which he had a great affinity. Thus, it became one of the pillars that supports the study of statistics.

Despite being born into a home of deep religious convictions, Pearson embraced free thought and devoted himself to his only belief: science. He also developed a deep interest in the natural sciences, more precisely in the evolutionary and inheritance theories proposed by Charles Darwin.

Pearson was born in London, United Kingdom, in 1857. He studied medieval literature at the University of Heidelberg, Germany; however, he leaned towards the study of statistics.

Contributions to science

His taste for statistical sciences led him to found the first university department dedicated solely and exclusively to the research and development of this science.

Additionally, Pearson contributed to the founding of the journal Biometrika, and to the creation of Pearson's chi-square test and Pearson's correlation coefficient.

Although his original name was Carl, Pearson decided to change it to Karl during his stay in Germany. This supposedly he did under the influence of Karl Marx, whom he got to know in person and who had a great influence on the ideals of the Briton.

The father of biostatistics

The birth of biostatistics is Karl Pearson's main contribution to science. This is a derivation of mathematical statistics, which can be applied to areas such as medicine, biology, ecology, in health services and in studies of biological inheritance.

The creation of numerous drugs and the understanding of different diseases owe much of their advancement to biostatistics.

Psychometrics

Another important area of ​​study for Pearson was psychometrics, whose function is to perform tests that serve to quantitatively measure the qualities of an individual.

Thus, results are generated that can be useful for many things. This is used, among other applications, to find the right candidate to fill a specific position in a company.

Psychometry is also used to detect talent or as a diagnosis of potential, so that the most promising people in a certain area can be recognized.

This prominent scientist believed and defended eugenics. He was convinced that poverty, skill, intelligence, criminality and creativity were inherited attributions. Consequently, they could move towards perfection, eliminating the bad and giving priority to the good.

His philosophy of life was largely positivist. He followed the empirical theories and subjective idealism of George Berkeley, the Irish empiricist philosopher.

Jobs and friendship with Francis Galton

All these ideas led him to become close friends with Francis Galton, Charles Darwin's cousin, who became his collaborator and colleague during the time of his career. Galton considered Pearson a great friend.

With Galton, Pearson developed various theories and research on eugenics, the analysis of genetic inheritance, physics, and evolutionary paradigms.

After Galton's death, Pearson became the head of the School of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge, UK. He was later appointed professor and director of the School of Eugenics.

Pearson and eugenics

Pearson's views on eugenics could be viewed today as deeply racist. From what can be understood of his personality, Pearson was a cold and calculating man.

He openly defended the war against the lower races, and saw this as a logical consequence of his scientific work on the exploration of human behavior and its relation to race and genetic inheritance.

The British scientist was known from his youth for his rebellious and somewhat confrontational character, and also for his radical ideas.

Aside from being a high-profile mathematician, he was a competent historian and had also graduated as a lawyer on the advice of his father, although he never showed any real interest in law and practiced for a short time.

Interest in literature

His true point of interest - beyond mathematics and natural sciences - was literature, especially that of the Middle Ages.

As contributions from his professional life, Pearson is described as an outstanding freethinker and a staunch socialist. He gave lectures on topics such as The Woman Question, at the height of the suffrage movement in the United Kingdom. He also expressed himself on the ideology of Karl Marx.

His commitment to socialism and his ideals led him to reject the offer to be decorated as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1920. He also refused to be knighted in 1935.

Despite this, his critics dismiss Pearson as a false democrat, calling himself a socialist but actually having no appreciation for the proletariat or the working class.

Similarly, Pearson demonstrated a broad interest in German culture and history, also having a degree in German Studies. He also wrote on various topics, beyond the scientific nature; for example, he wrote about religion and characters like Goethe and Werther.

His fondness for literature, writing and the great admiration he felt for Francis Galton, led him to be his official biographer. He even came to consider him more relevant and important than his cousin, Charles Darwin.

Grammar of science

The Grammar of Science, published in 1892, was his main and most influential work in his guild. Topics such as matter and energy, antimatter, and the physical properties of geometry are addressed in the writing.

This book served as the basis of the first studies of Albert Einstein, who even went so far as to recommend it to his colleagues at the Olympia Academy.

Karl Pearson died in 1936. He is remembered as a controversial character, but at the same time with great admiration by the scientific community, especially that related to statistics, a branch of knowledge that is essential to understand nature.

References

1. Condés, E. (2006). Biostatistics: A fundamental tool in the preparation of radiological articles. ELSEVIER. Recovered in: elsevier.es
2. Gómez Villegas, MA (2007) Karl Pearson, the Creator of Mathematical Statistics. Complutense University of Madrid. Recovered at: mat.ucm.es
3. Mendoza, W. and Martínez, O. (1999). The Eugenic ideas of the Creation of the Institute of Social Medicine. Annals of the Faculty of Medicine, Peru: Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Recovered at: sisbib.unmsm.edu.pe
4. Pearson ES (1938). Karl Pearson: An Appreciation of Some Aspects of His Life and Work. Cambridge University Press. Recovered at: physics.princeton.edu
5. Porter, T. (1998). Karl Pearson. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Recovered at: britannica.com