Description
Unlock the fascinating history of statistical development in *Making It Count* by Arunabh Ghosh, a compelling trade paperback published by Princeton University Press in 2022. This BRAND NEW book dives deep into the statistical challenges faced by leaders of the nascent People’s Republic of China in 1949. Amid a landscape reshaped by war, the government aimed to revitalize its economy and society, yet was hampered by a severe lack of reliable data. Ghosh examines the critical 'crisis in counting' that unfolded as key political figures, statisticians, and scholars sought to bridge the daunting information gap. Using a rich array of sources from China, India, and the United States, this book reveals how Soviet-inspired enumeration models were tested and transformed by interactions with Indian statisticians, leading to the exploration of innovative random sampling methods. As the political climate shifted during the Great Leap Forward (1958–61), statistical practices were redefined, showcasing a unique ethnographic approach to data. Ghosh’s work not only reframes the Cold War narrative but also illustrates the global evolution of statistics and its vital role in state-building. Shipping for this item is free, and you can expect delivery within 6 weeks. Please note that once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691199719
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
In 1949, at the end of a long period of wars, one of the biggest challenges facing leaders of the new People’s Republic of China was how much they did not know. The government of one of the world’s largest nations was committed to fundamentally reengineering its society and economy via socialist planning while having almost no reliable statistical data about their own country. Making It Count is the history of efforts to resolve this “crisis in counting.” Drawing on a wealth of sources culled from China, India, and the United States, Arunabh Ghosh explores the choices made by political leaders, statisticians, academics, statistical workers, and even literary figures in attempts to know the nation through numbers.
Ghosh shows that early reliance on Soviet-inspired methods of exhaustive enumeration became increasingly untenable in China by the mid-1950s. Unprecedented and unexpected exchanges with Indian statisticians followed, as the Chinese sought to learn about the then-exciting new technology of random sampling. These developments were overtaken by the tumult of the Great Leap Forward (1958–61), when probabilistic and exhaustive methods were rejected and statistics was refashioned into an ethnographic enterprise. By acknowledging Soviet and Indian influences, Ghosh not only revises existing models of Cold War science but also globalizes wider developments in the history of statistics and data.
Anchored in debates about statistics and its relationship to state building, Making It Count offers fresh perspectives on China’s tr
Note: Shipping for this item is free. Please allow up to 6 weeks for delivery. Once your order is placed, it cannot be cancelled.
Condition: BRAND NEW
ISBN: 9780691199719
Format: Trade paperback (US)
Year: 2022
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Description:
In 1949, at the end of a long period of wars, one of the biggest challenges facing leaders of the new People’s Republic of China was how much they did not know. The government of one of the world’s largest nations was committed to fundamentally reengineering its society and economy via socialist planning while having almost no reliable statistical data about their own country. Making It Count is the history of efforts to resolve this “crisis in counting.” Drawing on a wealth of sources culled from China, India, and the United States, Arunabh Ghosh explores the choices made by political leaders, statisticians, academics, statistical workers, and even literary figures in attempts to know the nation through numbers.
Ghosh shows that early reliance on Soviet-inspired methods of exhaustive enumeration became increasingly untenable in China by the mid-1950s. Unprecedented and unexpected exchanges with Indian statisticians followed, as the Chinese sought to learn about the then-exciting new technology of random sampling. These developments were overtaken by the tumult of the Great Leap Forward (1958–61), when probabilistic and exhaustive methods were rejected and statistics was refashioned into an ethnographic enterprise. By acknowledging Soviet and Indian influences, Ghosh not only revises existing models of Cold War science but also globalizes wider developments in the history of statistics and data.
Anchored in debates about statistics and its relationship to state building, Making It Count offers fresh perspectives on China’s tr