Will you be alive 10 years from now? : and numerous other curious questions in probability : a collection of not so well-known mathematical mind-benders (with solutions, with one exception) / Paul J. Nahin.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Nahin, Paul J.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Probabilities--Problems, exercises, etc.

Probabilities.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (250 p.)

Edition:

Course Book

Place of Publication:

Princeton : Princeton University Press, [2014]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

"What are the chances of a game-show contestant finding a chicken in a box? Is the Hanukkah dreidel a fair game? Will you be alive ten years from now? These are just some of the one-of-a-kind probability puzzles that acclaimed popular math writer Paul Nahin offers in this lively and informative book.Nahin brings probability to life with colorful and amusing historical anecdotes as well as an electrifying approach to solving puzzles that illustrates many of the techniques that mathematicians and scientists use to grapple with probability. He looks at classic puzzles from the past--from Galileo's dice-tossing problem to a disarming dice puzzle that would have astonished even Newton--and also includes a dozen challenge problems for you to tackle yourself, with complete solutions provided in the back of the book.Nahin then presents twenty-five unusual probability puzzlers that you aren't likely to find anywhere else, and which range in difficulty from ones that are easy but clever to others that are technically intricate. Each problem is accompanied by an entertaining discussion of its background and solution, and is backed up by theory and computer simulations whenever possible in order to show how theory and computer experimentation can often work together on probability questions. All the MATLAB Monte Carlo simulation codes needed to solve the problems computationally are included in the book. With his characteristic wit, audacity, and insight, Nahin demonstrates why seemingly simple probability problems can stump even the experts"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Preface

Introduction: Classic Puzzles from the Past

Challenge Problems

1. Breaking Sticks

2. The Twins

3. Steve's Elevator Problem

4. Three Gambling Problems Newton Would "Probably" Have Liked

5. Big Quotients - Part 1

6. Two Ways to Proofread

7. Chain Letters That Never End

8. Bingo Befuddlement

9. Is Dreidel Fair?

10. Hollywood Thrills

11. The Problem of the n-Liars

12. The Inconvenience of a Law

13. A Puzzle for When the Super Bowl

14. Darts and Ballistic Missiles

15. Blood Testing

16. Big Quotients - Part 2

17. To Test or Not to Test?

18. Average Distances on a Square

19. When Will the Last One Fail?

20. Who's Ahead?

21. Plum Pudding

22. Ping-Pong, Squash, and Difference Equations

23. Will You Be Alive 10 Years from Now?

24. Chickens in Boxes

25. Newcomb's Paradox

Challenge Problem Solutions

Technical Note on MATLAB®'s Random Number Generator

Acknowledgments

Index

Also by Paul J. Nahin

Notes:

Description based upon print version of record.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691196367

0691196362

9781400848379

1400848377

OCLC:

858652492