The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century
Condition: SECONDHAND
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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 theory, a concept that allows us to think rationally about decisions and events. In The 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.
Author: Keith Devlin
Format: Paperback, 208 pages, 141mm x 207mm, 218 g
Published: 2010, Basic Books, United States
Genre: Science & Mathematics: Textbooks & Study Guides
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 theory, a concept that allows us to think rationally about decisions and events. In The 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.
The Unfinished Game: Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century