> I don’t even know what the relation between probability and statistics is
That's a great question, and I think the lines are more than a little blurry.
My attempt at an answer would be:
Probability: Given a set of dice and coins and an order for rolling and throwing them, what is the chance of a specific outcome?
Statistics: Given a set of outcomes, what dice where rolled?
So if you want to know if smoking kills, you tally up medical history, and use statistics to see if there is a relationship between smoking and dying.
If you want to know the probability of smoking killing you, you look at the risc each cigarette brings to the table and tally it up using probability theory.
That's a great question, and I think the lines are more than a little blurry.
My attempt at an answer would be:
Probability: Given a set of dice and coins and an order for rolling and throwing them, what is the chance of a specific outcome?
Statistics: Given a set of outcomes, what dice where rolled?
So if you want to know if smoking kills, you tally up medical history, and use statistics to see if there is a relationship between smoking and dying.
If you want to know the probability of smoking killing you, you look at the risc each cigarette brings to the table and tally it up using probability theory.
More elegantly phrased examples can be found on Stack Overflow: https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/665/whats-the-diff...