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The drunkard's walk : how randomness rules our lives / Leonard Mlodinow.

The drunkards walk (other title)

Summary:

An irreverent look at how randomness influences our lives, and how our successes and failures are far more dependent on chance events than we recognize.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780375424045
  • ISBN: 9780307275172
  • Physical Description: xi, 252 pages : illustrations, charts ; 25 cm
  • Publisher: New York : Pantheon Books, [2008]

Content descriptions

Bibliography, etc. Note:
Includes bibliographical references (pages 223-238) and index.
Formatted Contents Note:
Peering through the eyepiece of randomness: the hidden role of chance-- when human beings can be outperformed by a rat -- The laws of truths and half-truths: the basic principles of probability and how they are abused-- why a good story is often less likely to be true than a flimsy explanation -- Finding your way through a space of possibilities: a framework for thinking about random situations-- from a gambler in plague-ridden Italy to Let's Make a Deal -- Tracking the pathways to success: how to count the number of ways in which events can happen, and why it matters-- the mathematical meaning of expectation -- The dueling laws of large and small numbers: the extent to which probabilities are reflected in the results we observe-- Zeno's paradox, the concept of limits, and beating the casino at roulette -- False positives and positive fallacies: how to adjust expectations in light of past events or new knowledge-- mistakes in conditional probability from medical screening to the O. J. Simpson trial and the prosecutor's fallacy -- Measurement and the law of errors: the meaning and lack of meaning in measurements-- the bell curve and wine ratings, political polls, grades, and the position of planets -- The order in chaos: how large numbers can wash out the disorder of randomness-- or why 200,000,000 drivers form a creature of habit -- Illusions of patterns and patterns of illusion: why we are often fooled by the regularities in chance events-- can a million consecutive zeroes or the success of Wall Street gurus be random? -- The drunkard's walk: why chance is a more fundamental conception than causality-- Bruce Willis, Bill Gates, and the normal accident theory of life.
Subject:
Chance.
Probabilities.
Random variables.

Available copies

  • 21 of 23 copies available at NC Cardinal. (Show)
  • 1 of 1 copy available at Madison County Public Library.

Holds

  • 2 current holds with 23 total copies.
Sort by distance from:
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Madison Main Library 519.2 MLO (Text) 30229100571537 Adult Nonfiction Available -

Accessibility Features

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035 . ‡a(OCoLC)261199826
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020 . ‡a9780307275172
1001 . ‡aMlodinow, Leonard, ‡d1954- ‡0(CARDINAL)353774
24514. ‡aThe drunkard's walk : ‡bhow randomness rules our lives / ‡cLeonard Mlodinow.
2460 . ‡aThe drunkards walk
264 1. ‡aNew York : ‡bPantheon Books, ‡c[2008]
264 4. ‡c©2008
300 . ‡axi, 252 pages : ‡billustrations, charts ; ‡c25 cm
336 . ‡atext ‡btxt ‡2rdacontent
337 . ‡aunmediated ‡bn ‡2rdamedia
338 . ‡avolume ‡bnc ‡2rdacarrier
504 . ‡aIncludes bibliographical references (pages 223-238) and index.
5050 . ‡aPeering through the eyepiece of randomness: the hidden role of chance-- when human beings can be outperformed by a rat -- The laws of truths and half-truths: the basic principles of probability and how they are abused-- why a good story is often less likely to be true than a flimsy explanation -- Finding your way through a space of possibilities: a framework for thinking about random situations-- from a gambler in plague-ridden Italy to Let's Make a Deal -- Tracking the pathways to success: how to count the number of ways in which events can happen, and why it matters-- the mathematical meaning of expectation -- The dueling laws of large and small numbers: the extent to which probabilities are reflected in the results we observe-- Zeno's paradox, the concept of limits, and beating the casino at roulette -- False positives and positive fallacies: how to adjust expectations in light of past events or new knowledge-- mistakes in conditional probability from medical screening to the O. J. Simpson trial and the prosecutor's fallacy -- Measurement and the law of errors: the meaning and lack of meaning in measurements-- the bell curve and wine ratings, political polls, grades, and the position of planets -- The order in chaos: how large numbers can wash out the disorder of randomness-- or why 200,000,000 drivers form a creature of habit -- Illusions of patterns and patterns of illusion: why we are often fooled by the regularities in chance events-- can a million consecutive zeroes or the success of Wall Street gurus be random? -- The drunkard's walk: why chance is a more fundamental conception than causality-- Bruce Willis, Bill Gates, and the normal accident theory of life.
520 . ‡aAn irreverent look at how randomness influences our lives, and how our successes and failures are far more dependent on chance events than we recognize.
650 0. ‡aChance. ‡0(CARDINAL)287763
650 0. ‡aProbabilities. ‡0(CARDINAL)250551
650 0. ‡aRandom variables. ‡0(CARDINAL)251294
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 201909
902 . ‡aMARCIVE 201912
901 . ‡a11243747 ‡bUnknown ‡c11243747 ‡tbiblio