In a more recent dictionary from Cambridge statistics is actually not defined in one way but it mentions four different definitions (Everitt & Skrondal, 2010, p. 413). A definition that I think works pretty well is given by the OED: “the department of study that has its object the collection and arrangement of numerical facts or data, whether relating to human affairs or to natural phenomena”.
Of course you could also try to understand what statistics is by watching how Kelso's dad from the TV series 'That 70's show' explains it.
Video: Kelso's dad (a statistician) explains what he does.
Although statistics uses formula’s it is often not seen and taught from a mathematical view point. It is more similar to economics in the sense that it applies formulas and not proof them. There is of course also the underlying mathematics to the formulas, but those are often skipped over. In most courses it is more important to understand why and what you are doing then proofing the underlying equations.
As mathematics often deals with variables and numbers, so does statistics. From that point the two subjects are related. Before we therefor begin with statistics, a few paragraphs on a few notations and terminology:
References
Everitt, B., & Skrondal, A. (2010). The Cambridge dictionary of statistics (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Available on Amazon
Mulhall, M. G. (1884). Mulhall’s dictionary of statistics. London: George Routledge and sons. Retrieved from http://archive.org/details/mulhallsdiction00unkngoog
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