Examples of Statistical Laws

This chapter contains a case by case description of paradigmatic statistical laws. While acknowledging their distinctiveness, our focus is on the common aspects across different statistical laws, in particular the similar role they have played in different research areas. The aim is to facilitate a comparative analysis that highlights the significance of this concept in complex-systems studies, supporting the unified treatment proposed in this monograph. In each case, we briefly describe how these laws were proposed, the most prominent explanations for their origin, and some of their uses. While we attempt to refer to original work, and to give credit to the original proponents of the laws, the description should be interpreted as a historical narrative that justified (and still justifies) the use of statistical laws and not as an attempt to reproduce the historical steps involved in this process. For readers interested in specific statistical laws, we hope the content of this chapter will provide a contextual introduction and point to relevant work where more specific aspects are discussed.