why ‘greta’?

There’s a recent convention of naming statistical modelling software after pioneers in the field (e.g. Stan and Edward).

Grete Hermann wasn’t a statistician. She wrote the first algorithms for computer algebra; in the 1920s, well before the first electronic computer was built. This work laid the foundations for the computer algebra libraries that enable modern statistical modelling.

In case that’s not enough reason to admire her, Grete Hermann also disproved a popular theorem in quantum theory and was part of the German resistance against the Nazi regime prior to World War Two.

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Grete (usually said Greh•tuh, like its alternate spelling Greta) can be confusing for non-German speakers to pronounce, so I’ve taken the liberty of naming the package greta instead. You can call it whatever you like.