Title:
Chance : a guide to gambling, love, the stock market & just about everything else / Amir D. Aczel.
Author:
Aczel, Amir D.
Publication Information:
New York : Thunder's Mouth Press, c2004.
Call Number:
BC141 .A25 2004
Abstract:
Chance defines our life. Will you get the job, the lover, the money? Now Amir Aczel, in this slim book modeled on his very successful Fermat's Last Theorem, gives readers the tools to minimize, or maximize, chance's effect on their lives. Chance marks Aczel's return to his preferred field: the popularization of mathematics. Here, Aczel explores probability theory and its daily, practical applications, while along the way relating stories of inveterate gamblers who also happen to be mathematical geniuses. With the clarity of the statistician he once was, Aczel analyzes what is commonly known as luck. Alongside chapters on Surprising Birthday Problem, Coincidences, and How to Make Great Decisions are a history of probability theory and anecdotes of its daily applications.
Electronic Access:
Publisher description http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy0831/2004304723-d.html
ISBN:
9781568583167
9781560257943
Physical Description:
xiii, 161 p. : ill. ; 20 cm.
Contents:
Introduction -- 1. What is probability? -- 2. Measuring the probability -- 3. The law of unions -- 4. Independence of events -- 5. Subjective probability -- 6. The complement of an event, and the union of independent events -- 7. Random walks and the gambler's ruin -- 8. What is randomness? -- 9. Pascal's triangle -- 10. The inspection paradox -- 11. The birthday problem-- 12. Coincidences -- 13. How to succeed in love (find the best apartment, or adopt the best puppy) -- 14. How to make decisions under uncertainty -- 15. Game strategies -- 16. Bayes's theorem -- 17. The normal curve -- 18. Understanding the presidential election (and other) polls -- 19. Conclusion -- A few problems... -- Answers.
Personal Author:
