An understanding of statistics is an absolutely essential part of science. Not only that, but being familiar with rigorous statistical testing actually makes people better thinkers. Research has shown that people familiar with stats are less prone to certain kinds of judgment errors.
Having said that, statistics is the most poorly taught subject of any I’m familiar with. Chiefly to blame is the fact that the worst writers on the planet write statistics books. If the lecture is too boring (and it will be) or hard to understand (and it might be), good luck getting it from the book. I think the reason the books suck is that stats teachers don’t write for an audience of students wanting to learn statistics. They write for fellow PhD statisticians. Which is why each technique is P A I N S T A K I N G L Y buttressed by theory, proofs, and derivations.
It seems like the writers of most stats books would rather be seen as extremely rigorous than extremely helpful.
