From lotteries, opinion polls and insuranceto worries about murder rates, naturaldisasters and terrorism, probability plays amajor part in our everyday lives—a partthat is frequently and needlessly misunderstood.Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, a mathprofessor and improvisational comedian,comes to the rescue with this irreverent,bestselling exploration of the odds andoddities of randomness. Looking at suchfamiliar topics as poker hands, e-mailspam, political elections and game shows,Struck by Lightning puts probability intoperspective and has fun along the way.

Struck By Lightning

Science & Math

Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.

Physics

Harper-perennial

From terrorist attacks to big money jackpots, Struck by Lightning deconstructs the odds and oddities of chance, examining both the relevant and irreverent role of randomness in our everyday lives. Human beings have long been both fascinated and appalled by randomness. On the one hand, we love the thrill of a surprise party, the unpredictability of a budding romance, or the freedom of not knowing what tomorrow will bring. We are inexplicably delighted by strange coincidences and striking similarities. But we also hate uncertainty's dark side. From cancer to SARS, diseases strike with no apparent pattern. Terrorists attack, airplanes crash, bridges collapse, and we never know if we'll be that one in a million statistic. We are all constantly faced with situations and choices that involve randomness and uncertainty. A basic understanding of the rules of probability theory, applied to real-life circumstances, can help us to make sense of these situations, to avoid unnecessary fear, to seize the opportunities that randomness presents to us, and to actually enjoy the uncertainties we face. The reality is that when it comes to randomness, you can run, but you can't hide. So many aspects of our lives are governed by events that are simply not in our control. In this entertaining yet sophisticated look at the world of probabilities, author Jeffrey Rosenthal--an improbably talented math professor--explains the mechanics of randomness and teaches us how to develop an informed perspective on probability. Table of Contents <ul>
<li>Front Matter</li>
<li>1 Surrounded by Randomness: Probabilities Everywhere</li>
<li>2 What Are the Odds of That? Coincidence and Surprise</li>
<li>3 Laying Down the Law: Why Casinos Always Win</li>
<li>4 Dealing the Cards: Bridge, Poker, and Blackjack</li>
<li>5 Murder Most Foul: Measuring Trends</li>
<li>6 Utility Functions:How to Make Decisions</li>
<li>7 White Lab Coats: What Studies Do and Don't Show</li>
<li>8 Ain't Gonna Happen: Very Low Probabilities</li>
<li>9 Interlude: The Case of the Collapsing Casino</li>
<li>10 Fifty-one Percent to Forty-nine Percent: The True Meaning of Polls</li>
<li>11 Nineteen Times Out of Twenty: Margins of Error</li>
<li>12 Randomness to the Rescue: When Uncertainty Is Your Friend</li>
<li>13 Evolution, Genes, and Viruses:Randomness in Biology</li>
<li>14 That Wily Monty Hall:Finding Probabilities from Clues</li>
<li>15 Spam,Spam,Probability, and Spam: Blocking Unwanted E-mail</li>
<li>16 Ignorance,Chaos,and Quantum Mechanics:Causes of Randomness</li>
<li>17 Final Exam: Do You Have Probability Perspective?</li>
<li>Acknowledgments</li>
<li>About the Author</li>
<li>Index</li>
</ul>

Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities

Research

Joseph Henry Press

Book by Evans, Michael J., Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.

Probability and Statistics Minitab Manual

Evans, Michael J.

Mathematics

W.H.Freeman

Unlike traditional introductory math/stat textbooks, Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty brings a modern flavor based on incorporating the computer to the course and an integrated approach to inference. From the start the book integrates simulations into its theoretical coverage, and emphasizes the use of computer-powered computation throughout.* Math and science majors with just one year of calculus can use this text and experience a refreshing blend of applications and theory that goes beyond merely mastering the technicalities. They'll get a thorough grounding in probability theory, and go beyond that to the theory of statistical inference and its applications. An integrated approach to inference is presented that includes the frequency approach as well as Bayesian methodology. Bayesian inference is developed as a logical extension of likelihood methods. A separate chapter is devoted to the important topic of model checking and this is applied in the context of the standard applied statistical techniques. Examples of data analyses using real-world data are presented throughout the text. A final chapter introduces a number of the most important stochastic process models using elementary methods. *Note: An appendix in the book contains Minitab code for more involved computations. The code can be used by students as templates for their own calculations. If a software package like Minitab is used with the course then no programming is required by the students.

Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty

Unlike traditional introductory math/stat textbooks, Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty brings a modern flavor based on incorporating the computer to the course and an integrated approach to inference. From the start the book integrates simulations into its theoretical coverage, and emphasizes the use of computer-powered computation throughout.* Math and science majors with just one year of calculus can use this text and experience a refreshing blend of applications and theory that goes beyond merely mastering the technicalities. They'll get a thorough grounding in probability theory, and go beyond that to the theory of statistical inference and its applications. An integrated approach to inference is presented that includes the frequency approach as well as Bayesian methodology. Bayesian inference is developed as a logical extension of likelihood methods. A separate chapter is devoted to the important topic of model checking and this is applied in the context of the standard applied statistical techniques. Examples of data analyses using real-world data are presented throughout the text. A final chapter introduces a number of the most important stochastic process models using elementary methods. *Note: An appendix in the book contains Minitab code for more involved computations. The code can be used by students as templates for their own calculations. If a software package like Minitab is used with the course then no programming is required by the students.

Probability and Statistics Solutions Manual

Unlike traditional introductory math/stat textbooks, Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty brings a modern flavor to the course, incorporating the computer and offering an integrated approach to inference that includes the frequency approach and the Bayesian inference. From the start the book integrates simulations into its theoretical coverage, and emphasizes the use of computer-powered computation throughout. Math and science majors with just one year of calculus can use this text and experience a refreshing blend of applications and theory that goes beyond merely mastering the technicalities. The new edition includes a number of features designed to make the material more accessible and level-appropriate to the students taking this course today.

Jeffrey S. Rosenthal, author of the bestseller Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities, was born on Friday the thirteenth, a fact that he discovered long after he had become one of the world’s pre-eminent statisticians. Had he been living ignorantly and innocently under an unlucky cloud for all those years? Or is thirteen just another number? As a scientist and a man of reason, Rosenthal has long considered the value of luck, good and bad, seeking to measure chance and hope in formulas scratched out on chalkboards.
In Knock on Wood, with great humour and irreverence, Rosenthal divines the world of luck, fate and chance, putting his considerable scientific acumen to the test in deducing whether luck is real or the mere stuff of superstition.

Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything

HarperCollins, Publishers

The Markov chain ergodic theorem is well-understood if either the time-line or the state space is discrete. However, there does not exist a very clear result for general state space continuous-time Markov processes. Using methods from mathematical logic and nonstandard analysis, we introduce a class of hyperfinite Markov processes-namely, general Markov processes which behave like finite state space discrete-time Markov processes. We show that, under moderate conditions, the transition probability of hyperfinite Markov processes align with the transition probability of standard Markov processes. The Markov chain ergodic theorem for hyperfinite Markov processes will then imply the Markov chain ergodic theorem for general state space continuous-time Markov processes.

Ergodicity of Markov Processes Via Nonstandard Analysis (Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society, September 2021, 1342, 273)

Weiss, William

Duanmu, Haosui

Amer Mathematical Society

Granta Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Rosenthal, Jeffrey S.. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Struck By Lightning

Struck by Lightning: The Curious World of Probabilities

Probability and Statistics Minitab Manual

Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty

Probability and Statistics Solutions Manual

Probability and Statistics: The Science of Uncertainty

Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything

Knock on Wood: Luck, Chance, and the Meaning of Everything

Ergodicity of Markov Processes Via Nonstandard Analysis (Memoirs of the American Mathematical Society, September 2021, 1342, 273)

Struck By Lightning