University of Michigan Press Blog

'Cult of Statistical Significance' authors celebrate victory in Supreme Court

"Statistical significance is neither necessary nor sufficient for proving a commercial or scientific result."  When two University of Michigan Press authors, Deirdre N. McCloskey and Stephen T. Ziliak, first began saying so, back in the 1980s, most of their colleagues dismissed their logic and findings.  Ziliak himself, a Trustee and Professor of Economics at Roosevelt University, was advised by some of his professors to stop talking about statistical significance.  But he and McCloskey, co-authors of the critically acclaimed book, The Cult of Statistical Significance: How the Standard Error Costs Us Jobs, Justice, and Lives (2008), kept talking and talking.

Now their view is the rule of law.  On March 22nd, 2011 the Supreme Court of the United States decided the case of Matrixx v. Siracusano, arguing unanimously that a bright-line standard of statistical significance is neither necessary nor sufficient for proving an adverse effects in medical, drug, and other industries reporting to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The distinguished economists had a more immediate role in the case.  On November 12, 2010, they were invited to file an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of the United States.  During the January 11th, 2011 oral argument, Justice Sotomayor, who wrote the unanimous opinion, thanked "amici" (that is our UMP authors) for doing a "wonderful" job explaining the difference between statistical significance and practical importance.  And several of the other briefs - including one filed by the United States of America - are influenced by their work.

‘The Americanist’ Author Daniel Aaron Awarded National Humanities Medal

Daniel Aaron, author of The Americanist, was recently selected to receive the 2010 National Humanities Medal. Ten awards are given each year for outstanding achievements in history, literature, education, and cultural policy. The medal will be presented at a ceremony in the White House, followed by a reception in the recipients’ honor attended by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.

The official citation honoring Aaron reads:

Daniel Aaron for his contributions to American literature and culture. As the founding president of the Library of America, he helped preserve our nation’s heritage by publishing America’s most significant writing in authoritative editions.

The complete list of this year’s and previous award-winners can be found at the National Endowment for the Humanities web site.

Aaron, a University of Michigan graduate who received his Ph.D. from Harvard, is regarded as one of the founders of American Studies. In his autobiography The Americanist, Aaron’s reflection on his own life and work casts new light on some of the twentieth century’s greatest writers, including Ralph Ellison, Robert Frost, Lillian Hellman, Richard Hofstadter, Alfred Kazin, Sinclair Lewis, Malcolm Muggeridge, John Crowe Ransom, Upton Sinclair, Edmund Wilson, Leonard Woolf, and W. B. Yeats, as well as forming a compelling literary event in its own right.

The Americanist is currently available in hardcover and as an ebook. For more information, visit The Americanist page at University of Michigan Press.