Unfinished Game Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter That Made the World Modern

Name: Unfinished Game Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter That Made the World Modern
Price: 11.08 USD
Availability: InStock
ISBN: 9780465018963

ISBN-10: 0465018963

ISBN-13: 9780465018963

Edition: N/A

Authors: Keith Devlin

List price: $25.99

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Description:

In the early seventeenth century, the outcome of something as simple as a dice roll was consigned to the realm of unknowable chance. Mathematicians largely agreed that it was impossible to predict the probability of an occurrence. Then, in 1654, Blaise Pascal wrote to Pierre de Fermat explaining that he had discovered how to calculate risk. The two collaborated to develop what is now known as probability theorya concept that allows us to think rationally about decisions and events.InThe Unfinished Game, Keith Devlin masterfully chronicles Pascal and Fermat's mathematical breakthrough, connecting a centuries-old discovery with its remarkable impact on the modern world.

Book details

List price: $25.99
Publisher: Basic Books
Publication date: 3/23/2010
Binding: Paperback
Pages: 208
Size: 5.51" wide x 8.19" long x 0.67" tall
Weight: 0.440
Language: English



Note to the Reader


Preface



Monday, August 24, 1654



A Problem Worthy of Great Minds



On the Shoulders of a Giant



A Man of Slight Build



The Great Amateur



Terrible Confusions



Out of the Gaming Room



Into the Everyday World



The Chance of Your Life



The Measure of Our Ignorance


The Key Letter from Pascal to Fermat


Index