Probabilities: The Little Numbers That Rule Our Lives, 2nd Edition

Preface to the First Edition

This book is about those little numbers that we just cannot escape. Try to remember the last day you didn't hear at least something about probabilities, chance, odds, randomness, risk, or uncertainty. I bet it's been a while. In this book, I will tell you about the mathematics of such things and how it can be used to better understand the world around you. It is not a textbook though. It does not have little colored boxes with definitions or theorems, nor does it contain sections with exercises for you to solve. My main purpose is to entertain you, but it is inevitable that you will also learn a thing or two. There are even a few exercises for you, but they are so subtly presented that you might not even notice until you have actually solved them.

The spousal thanks is always more than a formality. I thank for putting up with irregular work hours and everything else that comes with writing a book, but also for help with Greek words and for reminding me of some of my old travel stories that you will find in this book. I am deeply grateful to Professor Olle Häggström at Chalmers University of Technology in Göteborg, Sweden. He has read the entire manuscript, and his comments are always insightful, accurate, and clinically free from unnecessary politeness. If you find something in this book that strikes you as particularly silly, chances are that Mr. Häggström ...