„Statistics is the science of distribution, and the distribution contemplated by these modern scientists was not concerned with large numbers of similar particles, but with the various positions and velocities from which a physical system might start. In other words, under the Newtonian system the same physical laws apply to a variety of systems starting from a variety of positions and with a variety of momenta. The new statisticians put this point of view in a fresh light. They retained indeed the principle according to which certain systems may be distinguished from others by their total energy, but they rejected the supposition according to which systems with the same total energy may be clearly distinguished indefinitely and described forever by fixed causal laws.“ (p. 8) #Wiener #Newton #statistics #system #energy