The Improbability Principle by David Hand - ISBN: 9780552170192
Paperback
Expect the unexpected: Coincidences aren’t chance, they’re probability.

The Improbability Principle

Why coincidences, miracles and rare events happen all the time

$35.50

  • Paperback

    320 pages

  • Release Date

    1 April 2015

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Summary

Why coincidences, miracles, and rare events happen all the time. Why is it that incredibly unlikely phenomena actually happen quite regularly, and why should we, in fact, expect such things to happen?

Here, in this highly original book, aimed squarely at anyone with an interest in coincidences, probability, or gambling, eminent statistician David Hand answers this question by weaving together various strands of probability into a unified explanation, which he calls the improbability p…

Book Details

ISBN-13:9780552170192
ISBN-10:0552170194
Author:David Hand
Publisher:Transworld Publishers Ltd
Imprint:Corgi Books
Format:Paperback
Number of Pages:320
Release Date:1 April 2015
Weight:224g
Dimensions:196mm x 128mm x 19mm
What They're Saying

Critics Review

In my experience, it is very rare to find a book that is both erudite and entertaining. Yet The Improbability Principle is such a book. Surely this cannot be due to chance alone!

A hugely entertaining eye-opener about how misuse of statistics can skew our view of the world * Daily Mail *
Lively and lucid … an intensely useful (as well as a remarkably entertaining) book … * Salon *
In my experience, it is very rare to find a book that is both erudite and entertaining. Yet The Improbability Principle is such a book. Surely this cannot be due to chance alone! – Hal Varian, Google’s Chief Economist
An elegant, astoundingly clear and enjoyable combination of subtle statistical thinking and real-world events. – Andrew Dilnot, co-author of ‘The Numbers Game’
As someone who happened to meet his future wife on a plane, on an airline he rarely used, I wholeheartedly endorse David Hand’s fascinating guide to improbability, a subject which affects the lives of all, yet until now has lacked a coherent exposition of its underlying principles. – Gordon Woo, catastrophist at Risk Management Solutions

About The Author

David Hand

David Hand is an emeritus professor of mathematics and senior research investigator at Imperial College, London, a former president of the Royal Statistical Society and chief scientific advisor to Winton Capital, Europe’s most successful algorithmic trading hedge fund. He is the author of seven books including two popular titles (The Information Generation- How Data Rule Our World and Statistics- A Very Short Introduction). He is also the coauthor or editor/coeditor of several other academic titles, has published some 300 scientific papers and written popular articles for publications ranging from Mathematics Today to the Guardian.

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