Morphometrics is the statistical study of biological shape and shape change. Its richest data are landmarks, points such as the bridge of the nose that have biological names as well as geometric locations. This book offers a survey of morphometric methods for landmark data. The methods presented here combine conventional multivariate statistical analysis with themes from plane and solid geometry and from biomathematics to support biological insights into the features of many different organs and organisms.

This textbook combines elements from such different fields as anthropology, radiology, forensics, mathematics, and computer science, and is intended to be used by all kinds of students from biological to medical and technical fields as well as by teachers, journalists, and interested laymen.

In Measuring and Reasoning, Fred L. Bookstein examines the way ordinary arithmetic and numerical patterns are translated into scientific understanding, showing how the process relies on two carefully managed forms of argument: * Abduction: the generation of new hypotheses to accord with findings that were surprising on previous hypotheses, and * Consilience: the confirmation of numerical pattern claims by analogous findings at other levels of measurement. These profound principles include an understanding of the role of arithmetic and, more importantly, of how numerical patterns found in one...

This is the first textbook for a new branch of science combining elements of anthropology, radiology, forensics, mathematics, and computer science. It is intended for use by all kind of students, as well as teachers, journalists and interested layman.