t-distribution, was Geiger ...

[Ludwik Kowalski <KowalskiL@MAIL.MONTCLAIR.EDU>]

Brian whatcott mentioned Student's-t distribution:

> ... (I never tire of praising NLREG for regressions, for
example, even though it quotes Student's t, not chi squared) ...

Let me say that I have a fantastically good evidence that the
means from experimental (Geiger counter) samples of small
size follow the t-distribution and disagree with the normal
distribution. Every statistics textbook describes this.

In planning to publish a short pedagogically-oriented note
on that data-based study I would appreciate help from those
who can provide references to existing experimental
verifications of the t-distribution. Preferably references
which could easily be found by a typical science teacher.

I still do not know how the t-distribution was discovered in
1907 by Gosset. Everybody repeats that the bear company
prevented him from using his real name, and other trivial
details, but nobody, as far as I know, tries to explain how
he discovered the distribution. The hints are that it was
first discovered (and tabulated) and then mathematically
derived by others. But this is not clear to me.

Ludwik Kowalski