Who's what and where?

In his early classics The Time Machine, The Invisible Man, and The War of Worlds, H G Wells showed his fascination with science fiction and scientific topics. This curiosity makes his view on the necessity of statistical thinking even more compelling. It is plausible that Sir Ronald A Fisher's analysis of variance inspired Wells to stress the necessity of statistical thinking. The odd geostatistical scholar might suggest that Wells would have stressed the necessity of geostatistical thinking just as much if Matheron's theory of regionalized variables were earlier formulated. Fisher could have inspired Matheron's thinking while he was developing his theory of regionalized variables. Yet, those who were inspired by Matheronian thinking, messed up because the variance of the single distance-weighted average went missing.

Here's a list of statistically challenged thinkers who believe not only that the genuine variance of the single distance-weighted average can be replaced with the pseudo variance of a set of degrees-or-freedom and variance-deprived functionally dependent distance-weighted averages but also that spatial dependence may be assumed without proof. Not surprisingly, they turned JMG's peer review process into a blatantly biased, shamelessly self-serving sham. Statistical amnesia or dyslexia, and insufficient knowledge of mathematical statistics, would explain why JMG's peer reviewers deem themselves qualified to review applications of statistical methods in mineral exploration and mining.

Paradoxically, many scholars embraced geostatistics with single-minded obsession and continue to promote "innovative ideas and outstanding applications" not just in mineral exploration and mining of ores, coals and oil sands but also in agriculture, aquaculture, environmental science, forestry, health science, hydrology, petroleum, and other disciplines that may be similarly blessed with the incredible kriging game of chance with other people's money.

Dr Frits Agterberg, President
International Association for Mathematical Geology
IAMG Distinguished Lecturer 2004
Geological Survey of Canada, Ottawa, Canada

Professor Dr Roussos Dimitrikopolous, Associate Editor
Journal for Mathematical Geology
McGill University, Montreal, Canada

Professor Dr Peter A Dowd, Executive Dean
Faculty of Engineering, Computer and Mathematical Sciences
University of Adelaide, South Australia

Professor Dr Andre G Journel, Assistant Editor
Journal for Mathematical Geology
Stanford University, USA
Stanford Center for Reservoir Forecasting

Professor Dr Clayton V Deutsch, Assistant Editor
Journal for Mathematical Geology
University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada

Professor Daniel G Krige, Assistant Editor
Journal for Mathematical Geology
Past Honorary Research Fellow
University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa

Dr Willard E Sharp, Editor-in-Chief
Journal for Mathematical Geology
Professor emeritus, University of South Carolina

Dr Alistair J Sinclair, PEng, PGeo, Professor Emeritus
Reviewer for CIM Bulletin
University of British Columbia, Canada

Mr Marcel Vallée, PEng
Geoconseil Marcel Vallée, Inc, Montreal, Canada
Reviewer, CIM Bulletin
Past President, CIM Geological Society

Junior Professor Dr K Gerald van der Boogaart
Frequent contributor to the Journal for Mathematical Geology
Greifswald University, Germany

The above enforcers of a variant of mathematical statistics that violates the requirement of functional independence and ignores the concept of degrees of freedom will be remembered in a chronology of events ranging from to the early 1990s to the present.