Outlines a set of techniques that enable a researcher to discuss the 'hidden structure' of large data bases. These techniques use proximities, measures which indicate how similar or different objects are, to find a configuration of points which reflects the structure in the data.

Statistics lectures have been a source of much bewilderment and frustration for generations of students. This book attempts to remedy the situation by expounding a logical and unified approach to the whole subject of data analysis.
This text is intended as a tutorial guide for senior undergraduates and research students in science and engineering. After explaining the basic principles of Bayesian probability theory, their use is illustrated with a variety of examples ranging from elementary parameter estimation to image processing. Other topics covered include reliability analysis, multivariate optimization, least-squares and maximum likelihood, error-propagation, hypothesis testing, maximum entropy and experimental design.
The Second Edition of this successful tutorial book contains a new chapter on extensions to the ubiquitous least-squares procedure, allowing for the straightforward handling of outliers and unknown correlated noise, and a cutting-edge contribution from John Skilling on a novel numerical technique for Bayesian computation called 'nested sampling'.