• Communications for Statistical Applications and Methods
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• v.15 no.5
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• pp.737-752
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• 2008

About 1800, mathematicians combined analysis of error and probability theory into error theory. After developed by Gauss and Laplace, error theory was widely used in branches of natural science. Motivated by the successful applications of error theory in natural sciences, scientists like Adolph Quetelet tried to incorporate social statistics with error theory. But there were not a few differences between social science and natural science. In this paper we discussed topics raised then. The problems considered are as follows: the interpretation of individual man in society; the arguments against statistical methods; history of the measures for diversity. From the successes and failures of the $19^{th}$ century social statisticians, we can see how statistics became a science that is essential to both natural and social sciences. And we can see that those problems, which were not easy to solve for the $19^{th}$ century social statisticians, matter today too.