Everything Is Predictable: How Bayesian Statistics Explain Our World

ISBN: 1668052601

Author: Chivers, Tom

Condition: New

A captivating and user-friendly tour of Bayess theorem and its global impact on modern life from the acclaimed science writer and author of The Rationalists Guide to the Galaxy.At its simplest, Bayess theorem describes the probability of an event, based on prior knowledge of conditions that might be related to the event. But in Everything Is Predictable, Tom Chivers lays out how it affects every aspect of our lives. He explains why highly accurate screening tests can lead to false positives and how a failure to account for it in court has put innocent people in jail. A cornerstone of rational thought, many argue that Bayess theorem is a description of almost everything.But who was the man who lent his name to this theorem? How did an 18th-century Presbyterian minister and amateur mathematician uncover a theorem that would affect fields as diverse as medicine, law, and artificial intelligence?Fusing biography, razor-sharp science writing, and intellectual history, Everything Is Predictable is an entertaining tour of Bayess theorem and its impact on modern life, showing how a single compelling idea can have far reaching consequences.