“Bootstrap isn’t the star of statistics, but it is the best supporting actor”

Recognized with the 9th BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in Basic Sciences, mathematician Bradley Efron explains in this interview the origin and significance of the bootstrap, one of the most influential tools in modern statistics. Efron describes how this approach enables precise inference from limited data through computational simulation techniques. He also reflects on the role of statistics in advancing science—especially in the era of big data—and on how the combination of mathematics and computing has transformed statistical analysis.

The BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Award in the Basic Sciences category goes, in this ninth edition, to mathematicians David Cox and Bradley Efron, for their pioneering and hugely influential contributions to the theory and practice of statistical science through the invention of powerful techniques in pervasive use, including the Cox regression and Efron’s bootstrap method.