Fluke

The Math and Myth of Confidence

Additional Resources

PDF Sellsheet

Release Date: 03/29/2016
Publisher: Gildan Media, LLC
Classification: Nonfiction
Classification: Nonfiction
Series: N/A
Language: English
Format: Unabridged edition
Genre: Educational, Psychology & Mind
Author: Joseph Mazur
Read by: Tim Andres Pabon
Duration: 438 minutes
Run Time: 438 minutes
Language: English
Language: English
6 Audio CD(s) - 9781520071671
1 Audio MP3 CD(s) - 9781520071688

Fluke

The Math and Myth of Confidence

By Joseph Mazur

Genre: Educational, Psychology & Mind

Audio CD

03/21/2017

6 Audio CD

438 minutes

9781520071671

Audio MP3 CD

03/21/2017

1 Audio MP3 CD

438 minutes

9781520071688

Description:

This is the question we ask ourselves when we encounter the strangest and most seemingly impossible coincidences, like winning the lottery four times or Lincoln's dreams foreshadowing his own assassination. But when we look at coincidences mathematically, the odds are a lot better than any of us would have thought. In Fluke, mathematician Joseph Mazur takes a look at the seemingly improbable, taking us on a tour of the mathematical concepts of probability - such as the law of large numbers and the birthday paradox - and then combines these concepts with lively anecdotes of flukes from around the world, revealing that, if there is any likelihood that something could happen-no matter how small-it is bound to happen to someone at some time.

Quotes:

Mazur gently dashes icy water on our sense of wonder, patiently doing the math to explain multiple lottery winners, 'remarkable' accidental scientific discoveries and wrongheaded government policy., Keith Blanchard, , Wall Street Journal

Mazur's thoughtful tour reveals the explanatory power of probability theory in the larger world., Publishers Weekly

Well written, entertaining...an understandable introduction to probability for the layman., MAA.org

Mazur takes what could be difficult, abstruse subjects-probability and statistics-and makes them entertaining. The author draws examples and illustrations from a variety of fields-law enforcement, economics, the sciences-and, when he unavoidably gets into some fairly complicated mathematical discussions, he explains his terms and remembers that, for the most part, his readers aren't mathematicians. An ideal book, then, for the lay reader who is curious about the nature of coincidence., Booklist

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