International Six Sigma Institute and Secret Society for Imperious Professionals of Process Improvement
ISSISSIPPI Announces 2016 Thales Award Winner
Groundbreaking Data Analysis Technique Simplifies Lean Six Sigma Projects
April 1, 2016 | Columbus, Ohio — The world leader in process improvement and advanced analytics, ISSISSIPPI, has announced the winner of the prestigious 2016 Thales Award for Excellence in Statistical Analysis. This year's award recognizes the revolutionary work of Alan Gao, a statistician and developer at MoreSteam.com, for his creation of "Gao's Histogram"—a game‐changing approach to graphical data analysis that simplifies even the most complex datasets.
Named after Thales of Miletus, one of the Seven Sages of Greece and an early pioneer of statistical thinking, the Thales Award celebrates groundbreaking achievements in data analysis and visualization. First awarded in 2016, the trophy has quickly become one of the most sought‐after honors in the field—partly for its prestige and partly because it features a holographic projection of a Greek philosopher shaking his head in disapproval at bad statistics.
Below, you can see a standard comparison of two data sets. As expected, their histograms display significantly different shapes, making any direct comparison frustratingly complex:
Enter Gao's Histogram. By applying his single-bin algorithm, these once–chaotic distributions are reduced to a single "bin," with the bar height as the sole comparative element. The result? Instant clarity.
With this breakthrough, statisticians, analysts, and even business executives with a casual disregard for nuance can now compare datasets in mere seconds.
Gao's brilliance lies in his insight that the central problem in comparing wildly different datasets is simply the degree of difference. By reducing all data to a single parameter, 'n', he has effectively solved comparative analysis forever. I couldn't be more excited. This is the kind of focused analysis that truly resonates with business leaders who demand simple solutions to complex problems—and who often reject numbers greater than two.
— Zoltan Minsky, ISSISSIPPI President
Upon receiving the award, Gao was speechless for several minutes, before finally breaking his silence: “I've been working on the concept of a 'statistical singularity' ever since my first statistics class. The singularity is the moment when all analysis becomes self‐evident, breaking free from the paradox of Skrivanek's Inevitability—where every deeper level of analysis leads to even greater confusion in an endless spiral of despair. Until now, the singularity was merely a theoretical prediction of the standard model of statistics. But with this discovery, we have real evidence that we can move beyond the event horizon toward true simplicity. My mom will be so happy.”
When asked "What's next?" after reaching what many consider the pinnacle of statistical theory, Gao revealed an unexpected ambition: "I'm working on a book using my discovery as a theme. It will be an action‐adventure novel. And if I get it right, I think I can reduce it to a single page."
With a mind like his, it's only a matter of time before we see Gao's Law redefine literature the same way it has revolutionized data analysis.
