Measurement and Error Problems (1800-1900) Buys Ballot and Landré’s Critique on the Method of Least Squares

How did the meteorologist Buys Ballot and the actuary Landré deal with errors produced by measuring methods? The method of least squares is most appropriate for dealing with measurement errors produced by precise measuring instruments. But how should one proceed in meteorology where one has to deal with unreliable instruments and in actuarial science where observations are only available for different moments in time? It is shown in this chapter that statistical methods cannot be transmitted without revision from one field to another