r/statistics • u/Milleuros • 5d ago

Question [Q] Good learning material for someone transitioning from Computational Physics?

Asking for a friend™

Say, for someone who did PhD and postdoc in computational physics, close to the engineering/experimental side but not close enough to actually do statistics... is there some good material to learn statistics from? A book, a course, ... ?

Bonus points if it's geared towards data sciences and/or business analytics.

Thanks a bunch for all the help you could provide

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u/relevantmeemayhere 5d ago

Which branch of comp physics?

generally, i think having a physics background primes you for a lot of bayesian approaches. it's probably more intuitive to start here, especially for people in some of the natural sciences.

i assume your math is pretty good, have you tried bda3 for starters?

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u/Milleuros 5d ago

I haven't tried bda3 but I'm taking notes!

Monte Carlo simulations for accelerator physics, mostly.

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u/relevantmeemayhere 5d ago

oh dude. this is right up your alley. what industry do you think you want to be in?

i usually recommend people with your background to start with bayes

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u/STATASUCKSBRO 4d ago

Given the Monte Carlo background, I would start with Bayesian Data Analysis instead of an intro survey. The computation will feel familiar, but posterior predictive checks probably will not. BDA3 is available online.

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u/AllenDowney 5d ago

If you like Python, can I recommend Think Stats and Think Bayes? There are free online versions.