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Title: The Emergence of Probability: A Philosophical Study of Early Ideas About robability, Induction and Statistical Inference by Ian Hacking ISBN: 0-521-31803-3 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 21 June, 1984 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $33.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 5 (1 review)
Rating: 5
Summary: A stimulating tour de force
Comment: This is a great book. Hacking describes the development of probability and statistics from the Renaissance to David Hume. His central questions are: What were Pascal, Huygens, Leibniz, Jacques Bernoulli, and all the others really doing? What problems were they trying to solve? What limitations were they working under? How did all this fit into other intellectual and mathematical problems of the day? How did all this affect the subsequent development of probability and statistics? Some of this clears up minor details that I had never grasped before, such as what was the problem with two dice that Pascal solved for the Chevalier de Mere. More important is the description of the intellectual implications of the development of modern probability and statistics. I had not known that the very name "probability" grew out of a profound religious and intellectual argument between the Jansenist Pascal and the Jesuits.
The book is full of historical gems. For example, the Dutch and English governments in the seventeenth century became infatuated with annuities as a way to finance theor expenses, especially wars. Most of the schemes were actuarially unsound. The early statisticians devoted a lot of energy to this problem and this led to major advances. Unfortunately the governments were not always pleased to be told they had no clothes. It all sounds terribly up to date.
In summary, this book covers material that is important not only in a histroical context but also for its relvance to many contemporary issues. It is well written and concise. If you want to know what the early probabilists were thinking about and how that affected the way we all think about uncertainty today, this is the book for you.
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Title: An Introduction to Probability and Inductive Logic by Ian Hacking ISBN: 0521775019 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 02 July, 2001 List Price(USD): $25.00 |
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Title: The Taming of Chance by Ian Hacking ISBN: 0521388848 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 31 August, 1990 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
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Title: The Empire of Chance : How Probability Changed Science and Everyday Life by Gerd Gigerenzer, Zeno Swijtink, Theodore Porter, Lorraine Daston, John Beatty, Lorenz Kruger ISBN: 052139838X Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 26 October, 1990 List Price(USD): $30.00 |
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Title: The History of Statistics: The Measurement of Uncertainty Before 1900 by Stephen M. Stigler ISBN: 067440341X Publisher: Harvard Univ Pr Pub. Date: March, 1990 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: The Rise of Statistical Thinking, 1820-1900 by Theodore M. Porter ISBN: 069102409X Publisher: Princeton Univ Pr Pub. Date: 01 March, 1988 List Price(USD): $29.00 |
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