| Book
reviews
Mathematical
statistics metamorphosed into geostatistics after
Krige wrote in 1970 The role of mathematical
statistics in improved ore valuation techniques
in South African gold mines but before he
reminisced about "stormy receptions" in
his preface to David's 1977 Geostatistical Ore
Reserve Estimation . |
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In
retrospect, stormy receptions were not at all surprising.
It is counterintuitive and illogical indeed that the distance-weighted
average would be the first and only weighted average to
shed its variance during an honorific rebirth as a kriged
estimate. It also defies comprehension that kriging
variances and kriging covariances of sets of distance-weighted averages-cum-kriged estimates became
the cornerstones of geostatistics.
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In
addition to Krige's early work, I want to review
textbooks published before and after I reported
in April 1992 that geostatistics is a flawed variant
of mathematical statistics. I like to review your favorite
textbook and point out on which pages and in which
paragraphs it strays from the straight and narrow
of classical statistics into silly geostatistics. Most of all, I want to explain which
assumptions, decisions, doctrines and premises crumble
under scrutiny, and why semi-variograms and semi-analysis
of variance are as pointless as kriging variances
and kriging covariances of sets of kriged estimates.
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The
President of the International Association of Mathematical
Geology knows that I want to review Sinclair and
Blackwell's 2002 Applied Mineral Inventory Estimation. I also like to review Armstrong's 1997 Basic
Linear Geostatistics, and Webster and Oliver's Geostatistics
for Environmental Scientists. I have asked the authors of Geostatistics for Environmental Scientists to submit a few primary data sets so that I can juxtapose geostatistics against mathematical statistics but to no avail.
Reviews of David's
1977 Geostatistical Ore Reserve Estimation, the first textbook on geostatistics,
Journel and Huijbregt's 1978 Mining Geostatistics,
and Clark 's 1979 Practical Geostatistics, have been posted under Reviews in
2005, the year of reckoning by retro-review. Geostatistical
textbooks submitted for retro-reviews are non-returnable. My opinion will be posted within three (3) months upon receipt of a work.
Geostatistical ore reserve estimation, David, M
Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, 1977
Mining geostatistics, Journel, A G and Huijbregts, Ch J
Academic Presss, 1978
Practical geostatistics, Clark, I
Applied Science Publishers, 1979
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