Browse

Probability: A Very Short Introduction explores ideas of probability and the different philosophical approaches to it. It provides a brief account of the history of development of probability theory, and considers the work of some of the big players: from Galileo and Pascal to Bayes, Laplace, Poisson, and Markov. Making good decisions under conditions of uncertainty — which is the norm — requires a sound appreciation of the way random chance works. As analysis and modelling of most aspects of the world, and all measurement, are necessarily imprecise and involve uncertainties of varying degrees, the understanding and management of probabilities is central to much work in the sciences and economics.Less

Statistics: A Very Short Introduction describes a field very different from the dry and dusty discipline of the popular imagination. In its place is an exciting subject which uses deep theory and powerful software tools to shed light and enable understanding. And it sheds this light on all aspects of our lives, enabling astronomers to explore the origins of the universe, archaeologists to investigate ancient civilisations, governments to understand how to benefit and improve society, and businesses to learn how best to provide goods and services. Aimed at readers with no prior mathematical knowledge, this Very Short Introduction explores and explains how statistics work, and how we can decipher them.Less