Statistical Thinking and Future Thinking

Business Statistics is one of several courses students in our business school are required to take. It is also one of the courses students have difficulty in performing well. The real benefit of exposure to statistics is not just mathematical understanding, however, but the development of an ability to think conceptually and to think about the future. These perspectives are invaluable preparation for engagement in a global community. This ability has been referred to as “Future Thinking,” (Claiborne, 2014). Future Thinking is, at its core, probabilistic and also empathetic. Those high in future thinking can envision a future with its given possibilities and chart a course of action with a “feeling” for interactions yet to come.  In this paper, we examine how an understanding of the concepts of statistics can enhance the ability to think about the future.