Understanding Probability

Chance Rules in Everyday Life
Erscheinungsjahr 2004
ISBN: 978-0-521-83329-5
Verlag: Cambridge University Press

Buch, Englisch, 390 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 237 mm, Gewicht: 637 g

Like it or not, chance plays a big part in our lives. Every day we face situations where the result is uncertain, and, perhaps without realizing it, we guess about the likelihood of one outcome or another. Fortunately, mastering the concepts of probability can cast new light on situations where randomness and chance appear to rule. In this book, which uses lotteries and casino games to provide the many illustrative examples, the reader can learn about the world of probability. The author demystifies the law of large numbers, betting systems, random walks, the bootstrap, rare events, the central limit theorem, the Bayesian approach and more. Written with wit and clarity, this book can be read easily by anyone who is not put off by a few numbers and some high-school algebra. It is also ideally suited to students of all disciplines taking their first course in probability.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Tijms, Henk C.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Part I. Probability in Action: 1. Probability questions; 2. The law of large numbers and simulation; 3. Probabilities in everyday life; 4. Rare events and lotteries; 5. Probability and statistics; 6. Chance trees and Bayes' rule; Part II: 7. Foundations of probability theory; 8. Conditional probability and Bayes; 9. Basic rules for discrete random variables; 10. Continuous random variables; 11. Jointly distributed random variables; 12. Multivariate normal distribution; 13. Conditional distributions; 14. Generating functions.

Über Autor(innen)

Tijms, Henk C.
Henk Tijms is Professor in Operations Research at the Vrije University in Amsterdam. The author of several textbooks including, A First Course in Stochastic Models, he is intensively active in the popularization of applied mathematics and probability in Dutch high schools. He has also written numerous papers on applied probability and stochastic optimization for international journals including Applied Probability and Probability in the Engineering and Informational Sciences.