Statistics as inverse probability

Statistics is sometimes described as inverse probability. In a typical probability problem, one starts by positing that a certain quantity has some given probability distribution, say the number of people entering a bank branch follows a Poisson distribution, and then goes on to compute probabilities such as the chance that more than 100 people (max capacity) require service at the same time. In a typical statistical problem, one observes the distribution, that is to say, the number of patrons over a period of time, and then finds a model to best represent the observed pattern. *** In Charles Wheelan's Naked...