ENGLISH

From cosmos to chaos: the science of unpredictability

By Peter Coles

Book information

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Year
2006
ISBN
0198567626, 9780198567622, 9781429492645
Open Library ID
OL22733195M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
1 MB (1098018 bytes)
Pages
225\225
Library
Kolxo3
Time added
2009-07-20 03:45:11

Description

Cosmology has undergone a revolution in recent years. The exciting interplay between astronomy and fundamental physics has led to dramatic revelations, including the existence of the dark matter and the dark energy that appear to dominate our cosmos. But these discoveries only reveal themselves through small effects in noisy experimental data. Dealing with such observations requires the careful application of probability and statistics. But it is not only in the arcane world of fundamental physics that probability theory plays such an important role. It has an impact in many aspects of our everyday life, from the law courts to the lottery. Why then do so few people understand probability? And why do so few people understand why it is so important for science? Why do so many people think that science is about absolute certainty when, at its core, it is actually dominated by uncertainty? This book attempts to explain the basics of probability theory, and illustrate their application across the entire spectrum of science.

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