Home :: Books :: Professional & Technical  

Arts & Photography
Audio CDs
Audiocassettes
Biographies & Memoirs
Business & Investing
Children's Books
Christianity
Comics & Graphic Novels
Computers & Internet
Cooking, Food & Wine
Entertainment
Gay & Lesbian
Health, Mind & Body
History
Home & Garden
Horror
Literature & Fiction
Mystery & Thrillers
Nonfiction
Outdoors & Nature
Parenting & Families
Professional & Technical

Reference
Religion & Spirituality
Romance
Science
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Sports
Teens
Travel
Women's Fiction
Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability With Solutions

Fifty Challenging Problems in Probability With Solutions

List Price: $6.95
Your Price: $6.26
Product Info Reviews

<< 1 2 >>

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Good Distraction
Review: Even if you are not a big probability fan, you are more than likely to find something enjoyable in this book. Some of the problems are wasy, some are hard, and some are just strange, but it makes for a very entertaining diversion for the mathematically inclined.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: I passed my PhD qualifier because of this book!
Review: Excellent selection of problems and very explanatory and detailed solutions. This gets to the ideas behind many of the popular methods in probability, like maximum likelihood. The concepts are given centerstage and provide insights on "how to think" about many problems in probability.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: For math lovers
Review: I got this book because I wanted to strengthen my skills with basic probability as it relates to gaming, gambling and trading.

In some areas the problems here were helpful to me, and the solutions are well explained.

In a few areas the problems were way over my head and in areas I either don't understand or am not interested in.

That said, I think anyone with an interest in the subject won't be disappointed with this thin book, except maybe wishing there was a greater variety of problem types, which was one complaint I had, the second was that the solutions were a bit too complicated, which may mean I'm just not smart enough, however, it would have been a bit stronger of a book if it had explained some of the items at a lower level (for us numbskulls).



Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A look at the essence of probability, at all levels
Review: If Mosteller hadn't included the solutions, this would have been a short book indeed -- 56 problems simply stated in 14 pages. You'll soon find, however, that some problems, which are the shortest to set up, take a great deal of brainpower. It starts innocently enough - some simple-sounding problems on socks in drawers, flipping coins, and rolling dice. Soon enough, you end up with paper black with numbers and pictures of a flipping coin (how thick does a coin need to be so that it lands on its =side= with probability 1/3?) If you get drawn in deep (as I did), you may even wonder what probability really means.

Some of the problems are classic, such as the problem of how many people would it take for the probability that at least two of them have the same birthday is greater than a half (I'll give this answer away: 23. But do you know why?) One of the dice problems actually recalls the history of the development of probability as a separate mathematical field -- problem #19, involving dice bets that Samuel Pepys asked Isaac Newton to figure out. Some of the problems are simply openers for entire vistas in probability - avoid problems #51 and #52 if you wish to not become enmeshed in concerns of random walks (remember that one of Einstein's earliest papers was on Brownian motion - a molecular random walk.) I used problem #25, which deal with "random chords on a circle", to explore this classic probability paradox - I've ended up with three different figures, all of which seem plausible! It gets deep to what one means by "random chord".

This book, though so thin, is inexhaustible in spawning disturbing questions about probability; even more useful is that there are questions for people at =any= level of knowledge of probability. Those who wish to think about "counting" problems (like those involving rolling dice, or pulling balls out of urns) will find those here. Those who have an interest in continuous probability will find problems which will interest them. And those old probability pros who ponder the essence of chance will find meat for some productive chewing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: detailed instructive solutions
Review: The problems range from easy to incredibly hard. They are chosen to illustrate points or techniques. Many also have a touch of humour. You will learn a lot from this book. Few theorems are mentioned! Fun, cheap, instructive, amusing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Enjoyable
Review: There are other books on problems in probablity. However, this book has problems that are interesting (often counterintuitive). They are well written as are the solutions. Much of the book is at the pre-calculus level but the problems are not trivial; neither are they arcane. Many teachers use this book as a source of problems. It is great for all students of probability.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great book for math people of all levels.
Review: This book actually has 56 great problems in probability as well as very detailed solutions.

Most (if not all) do *not* require advanced mathematics but do require some clever thinking. A lot of these problems could be tackled by high school students and some of these problems will make PhDs blush!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Worth its' weight in a very precious metal
Review: This collection of fifty-six classic problems in probability is a first-rate work. All of the solutions are well written and easily followed. The reasoning is general enough to allow you to go on and solve related problems. Examples are birthday matching, trials until success, cooperation, gambler's ruin, and Buffon's needle.
If you have a soft spot for problems in probability, this book is an inexpensive must.

Published in Journal of Recreational Mathematics, reprinted with permission.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A neat little book with some errors
Review: This neat little book was first published in 1965, when normal everyday people were still more interested in mental challenge than reality TV. I short-change it one star only because a couple of the solutions are incorrect. Specifically problems 13 and 26. In one of these, the author confuses fait accompli with pending random event, a la cheap pseudo-paradox. In the other it's a case of careless oversight, doubtless just temporary blindness in the face of a false but otherwise elegant solution. The positives more than make up for this little inconvenience. Plus, you actually get 56 problems - more than advertised! Some of the problems are accessible to younger students, and could make great passtimes for long car rides.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: useful, effective fun
Review: Working through the colorful problems in this book is a great way to (re)learn and apply basic probability principles. There is a great deal of independence between problem so you are never quite sure how tough or easy the next one will be. On the other hand, several of the problems are clearly follow-ons that allow the exploration or expansion of some of the more interesting issues.

Though I've worked through the problems a couple of times, I bought a replacement copy when my original was "permanently borrowed" from my desk at work.


<< 1 2 >>

© 2004, ReviewFocus or its affiliates