Data Science #7 - "The use of multiple measurements in taxonomic problems." (1936), Fisher RA
This paper introduced linear discriminant analysis(LDA), a statistical technique that revolutionized classification in biology and beyond. Fisher demonstrated how to use multiple measurements to distinguish between different species of iris flowers, laying the foundation for modern multivariate statistics. His work showed that combining several characteristics could provide more accurate classification than relying on any single trait. This paper not only solved a practical problem in botany but also opened up new avenues for statistical analysis across various fields. Fisher's method became a cornerstone of pattern recognition and machine learning, influencing diverse areas from medical diagnostics to AI. The iris dataset he used, now known as the "Fisher iris" or "Anderson iris" dataset, remains a popular example in data science education and research.