Synopses & Reviews
Review
"An excellent book for the study of basic probability events... This book is an excellent choice for advanced courses in probability for math majors who have completed the calculus sequence."
Charles Ashbacher, Journal of Recreational Mathematics
Synopsis
New edition of the popular and informal introduction to probability, now with even more examples and exercises to help understanding.
Synopsis
Using examples from lotteries and casino games, the author of this accessible book demystifies much of probability theory, including betting systems and the central limit theorem. This fully revised second edition has been expanded considerably, with more explanations, examples and exercises providing all the material taught in an introductory probability course.
About the Author
Henk Tijms is Professor of Operations Research at the Vrije University in Amsterdam. The author of several textbooks, including A First Course in Stochastic Models, he is intensively active in the popularization of applied mathematics and probability in Dutch high schools. He has also written numerous papers on applied probability and stochastic optimization for international journals, including Applied Probability and Probability in the Engineering and International Sciences.
Table of Contents
Preface; Introduction; Part I. Probability in Action: 1. Probability questions; 2. The law of large numbers and simulation; 3. Probabilities in everyday life; 4. Rare events and lotteries; 5. Probability and statistics; 6. Chance trees and Bayes' rule; Part II. Essentials of Probability: 7. Foundations of probability theory; 8. Conditional probability and Bayes; 9. Basic rules for discrete random variables; 10. Continuous random variables; 11. Jointly distributed random variables; 12. Multivariate normal distribution; 13. Conditional distributions; 14. Generating functions; 15. Markov chains; Appendix; Recommended readings; Answers to odd-numbered problems; Bibliography.