Do all observations arise from probability distributions? Below is the quote from Karl Pearson in the book:  “The Lady Tasting Tea: How Statistics Revolutionized Science in the Twentieth Century” by David Salsburg:

Over a hundred years ago, Karl Pearson proposed that all observations arise from probability distributions and that the purpose of science is to estimate the parameters of those distributions. Before that, the world of science believed that the universe followed laws, like Newton’s laws of motion, and that any apparent variations in what was observed were due to errors. Gradually, Pearson’s view has become the predominant one.

My question is on the use of the word observation. Does the above quote imply that any data we collect or observe in nature/physics/experiments arise from probability distribution? How about deterministic process, which surely in not probabilistic? Any expansion of the above quote for lay person would be very helpful.


Below is the quote from Karl Pearson

You are not placing an exact quote of Karl Pearson, so it is difficult to respond directly to the thinking of Pearson. His thinking was positivist/idealistic and his ideas where like physical laws being relative to the observations by humans.

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*It is not observations that arise from probability distributions as if the underlying laws that govern them need to be probabilistic.
Instead it is more like the other way around. The laws of nature stem from observations (and these observations happen to be of a probabilistic nature due to variations that occur in experiments).


*It is not that observations arise from probability distributions, but they follow probability distributions. Finding out whether the underlying 'reality' is deterministic or not, that is not the goal of a positivist science, because it can only use the observations. These observations happen to have a random behaviour but whether their nature is random or deterministic is outside the grasp of science. So science should focus on describing the parameters of these distributions and not about the meaning or cause behind it (which would be metaphysics).
The difference with Newtonian notions or contemporary biologist in the time of Pearson is that science should be about data (observations) and not about unverifiable theories and notions about reality. Science is about measurements and that makes science a practice that deals with statistics (the field that is about description and analysis of data).
This question is actually more about philosophy of science than about statistics.
