In "The Improbability Principle," the renowned statistician
David J. Hand argues that extraordinarily rare events are anything
but. In fact, they're commonplace. Not only that, we should all
expect to experience a miracle roughly once every month.
But Hand is no believer in superstitions, prophecies, or the
paranormal. His definition of "miracle" is thoroughly rational. No
mystical or supernatural explanation is necessary to understand why
someone is lucky enough to win the lottery twice, or is destined to
be hit by lightning three times and still survive. All we need,
Hand argues, is a firm grounding in a powerful set of laws: the
laws of inevitability, of truly large numbers, of selection, of the
probability lever, and of near enough.
Together, these constitute Hand's groundbreaking Improbability
Principle. And together, they explain why we should not be so
surprised to bump into a friend in a foreign country, or to come
across the same unfamiliar word four times in one day. Hand
wrestles with seemingly less explicable questions as well: what the
Bible and Shakespeare have in common, why financial crashes are par
for the course, and why lightning does strike the same place (and
the same person) twice. Along the way, he teaches us how to use the
Improbability Principle in our own lives--including how to cash in
at a casino and how to recognize when a medicine is truly
effective.
An irresistible adventure into the laws behind "chance" moments
and a trusty guide for understanding the world and universe we live
in, "The Improbability Principle" will transform how you think
about serendipity and luck, whether it's in the world of business
and finance or you're merely sitting in your backyard, tossing a
ball into the air and wondering where it will land.
General
Imprint: |
Farrar Straus Giroux
|
Country of origin: |
United States |
Release date: |
February 2015 |
First published: |
February 2015 |
Authors: |
David J. Hand
|
Dimensions: |
208 x 137 x 23mm (L x W x T) |
Format: |
Paperback - Trade
|
Pages: |
288 |
ISBN-13: |
978-0-374-53500-1 |
Categories: |
Books >
Science & Mathematics >
Mathematics >
Probability & statistics
|
LSN: |
0-374-53500-0 |
Barcode: |
9780374535001 |
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