Understanding Probability is a unique and stimulating approach to a first course in probability. The first part of the book demystifies probability and uses many wonderful probability applications from everyday life to help the reader develop a feel for probabilities. The second part, covering a wide range of topics, teaches clearly and simply the basics of probability. This fully revised third edition has been packed with even more exercises and examples and it includes new sections on Bayesian inference, Markov chain Monte-Carlo simulation, hitting probabilities in random walks and Brownian motion, and a new chapter on continuous-time Markov chains with applications. Here you will find all the material taught in an introductory probability course. The first part of the book, with its easy-going style, can be read by anybody with a reasonable background in high school mathematics. The second part of the book requires a basic course in calculus.

In this fully revised second edition of Understanding Probability, the reader can learn about the world of probability in an informal way. The author demystifies the law of large numbers, betting systems, random walks, the bootstrap, rare events, the central limit theorem, the Bayesian approach and more. This second edition has wider coverage, more explanations and examples and exercises, and a new chapter introducing Markov chains, making it a great choice for a first probability course. But its easy-going style makes it just as valuable if you want to learn about the subject on your own, and high school algebra is really all the mathematical background you need.

Suitable for self study Use real examples and real data sets that will be familiar to the audience Introduction to the bootstrap is included – this is a modern method missing in many other books

This book presents not only the mathematical concept of probability, but also its philosophical aspects, the relativity of probability and its applications and even the psychology of probability. All explanations are made in a comprehensible manner and are supported with suggestive examples from nature and daily life, and even with challenging math paradoxes. (Mathematics)

"This book intends to highlight how the Theory of Probability supports, not only statistical modeling but how it allows describing different real life phenomena. It gives clues for understanding the philosophic roots of probability and how they are present in different areas of knowledge. The readers may use the book as a source for understanding the philosophical development of probability concepts and of the intents to obtain mathematical models. The chapters deal with the understanding of how probability models are usable for determining: A Probabilistic model of the best flight value for the design on paper of a helicopter How to model the improvement of the behavior of water heating systems and of the reliability of systems Models for determining the probability of non responses in inquiries and to evaluate the missing data. The modeling of various problems related with the behavior of ordering models of use in decision rules and of general properties of Order Statistics. A unified study of the probabilistic aspects of two Metaheuristics: Simulated Annealing and Tabu Search. How to obtain the identification of econometric techniques for dealing efficiently with the study of economic growth models under endogeneity. This book will be of interest for biometricians, statisticians, economists, engineers dealing with control and reliability, as well for informaticians"--

Using everyday examples to demystify probability, this classic is now in its third edition with new chapters, exercises and examples.