Bibliografía: 405-410.

Decision theory is the science of making optimal decisions in the face of uncertainty. Statistical decision theory is concerned with the making of decisions when in the presence of statistical knowledge (data) which sheds light on some of the uncertainties involved in the decision problem. The generality of these definitions is such that decision theory (dropping the qualifier ‘statistical’ for convenience) formally encompasses an enormous range of problems and disciplines. Any attempt at a general review of decision theory is thus doomed; all that can be done is to present a description of some of the underlying ideas.