For the first two editions of the book Probability (GTM 95), each chapter included a comprehensive and diverse set of relevant exercises. While the work on the third edition was still in progress, it was decided that it would be more appropriate to publish a separate book that would comprise all of the exercises from previous editions, in addition to many new exercises. Most of the material in this book consists of exercises created by Shiryaev, collected and compiled over the course of many years while working on many interesting topics. Many of the exercises resulted from discussions that took place during special seminars for graduate and undergraduate students. Many of the exercises included in the book contain helpful hints and other relevant information. Lastly, the author has included an appendix at the end of the book that contains a summary of the main results, notation and terminology from Probability Theory that are used throughout the present book. This Appendix also contains additional material from Combinatorics, Potential Theory and Markov Chains, which is not covered in the book, but is nevertheless needed for many of the exercises included here.

This book of problems is designed to challenge students learning probability. Each chapter is divided into three parts: Problems, Hints, and Solutions. All Problems sections include expository material, making the book self-contained. Definitions and statements of important results are interlaced with relevant problems. The only prerequisite is basic algebra and calculus.

Remarkable puzzlers, graded in difficulty, illustrate elementary and advanced aspects of probability. These problems were selected for originality, general interest, or because they demonstrate valuable techniques. Also includes detailed solutions.

This book is based on the view that cognitive skills are best acquired by solving challenging, non-standard probability problems. Many puzzles and problems presented here are either new within a problem solving context (although as topics in fundamental research they are long known) or are variations of classical problems which follow directly from elementary concepts. A small number of particularly instructive problems is taken from previous sources which in this case are generally given. This book will be a handy resource for professors looking for problems to assign, for undergraduate math students, and for a more general audience of amateur scientists.

Approximately 1,000 problems — with answers and solutions included at the back of the book — illustrate such topics as random events, random variables, limit theorems, Markov processes, and much more.

Winner of the 2012 PROSE Award for Mathematics from The American Publishers Awards for Professional and Scholarly Excellence. "A great book, one that I will certainly add to my personal library." —Paul J. Nahin, Professor Emeritus of Electrical Engineering, University of New Hampshire Classic Problems of Probability presents a lively account of the most intriguing aspects of statistics. The book features a large collection of more than thirty classic probability problems which have been carefully selected for their interesting history, the way they have shaped the field, and their counterintuitive nature. From Cardano's 1564 Games of Chance to Jacob Bernoulli's 1713 Golden Theorem to Parrondo's 1996 Perplexing Paradox, the book clearly outlines the puzzles and problems of probability, interweaving the discussion with rich historical detail and the story of how the mathematicians involved arrived at their solutions. Each problem is given an in-depth treatment, including detailed and rigorous mathematical proofs as needed. Some of the fascinating topics discussed by the author include: Buffon's Needle problem and its ingenious treatment by Joseph Barbier, culminating into a discussion of invariance Various paradoxes raised by Joseph Bertrand Classic problems in decision theory, including Pascal's Wager, Kraitchik's Neckties, and Newcomb's problem The Bayesian paradigm and various philosophies of probability Coverage of both elementary and more complex problems, including the Chevalier de Méré problems, Fisher and the lady testing tea, the birthday problem and its various extensions, and the Borel-Kolmogorov paradox Classic Problems of Probability is an eye-opening, one-of-a-kind reference for researchers and professionals interested in the history of probability and the varied problem-solving strategies employed throughout the ages. The book also serves as an insightful supplement for courses on mathematical probability and introductory probability and statistics at the undergraduate level.

The author, the founder of the Greek Statistical Institute, has based this book on the two volumes of his Greek edition which has been used by over ten thousand students during the past fifteen years. It can serve as a companion text for an introductory or intermediate level probability course. Those will benefit most who have a good grasp of calculus, yet, many others, with less formal mathematical background can also benefit from the large variety of solved problems ranging from classical combinatorial problems to limit theorems and the law of iterated logarithms. It contains 329 problems with solutions as well as an addendum of over 160 exercises and certain complements of theory and problems.