Joint Evolution of Regression Methods and Computing Technology in Public Health

Regression methods have been in use since the middle ages. The ability to add complexity and richness is in direct relation to the computing technology available to researchers in their time. In the time of scientists such as Galileo, Kepler, Newton, and others the modeling of observations to express mathematical formulation of natural laws was done by hand. Even in recent memory it was only possible to fit a handful of relatively simple models in one day with the available computers. Today with the evolution of inexpensive and readily available computers, researchers can build and estimate complex models, simulate various phenomenons, and therefore make inference to states of health as never before. In this research dialogue we trace the history of computing and its direct affect on application of regression methods in public health in addition to understanding more about the world we live in.