Statistical histories give engineering and scientifically minded students another route into the subject. Some readers begin with narrative and then seek the numbers, while others first notice an unexpected table and want to understand the story that produced it. Teaching can start from that difference rather than assuming that every learner enters history in the same way. An unexpected statistic can prompt a student to investigate why it takes that value. Clarke also recalls that some autistic students particularly liked this approach, while others disliked it; the observation concerns students he taught.
Notable Point · 54:40-58:04
Statistics can lead technical readers into history
Quantitative reference books can draw engineering and science students into the historical stories behind population, production, and military capacity.