Probability: The Science of Uncertainty by Michael A. Bean

In summary, "Probability: The Science of Uncertainty" by Michael A. Bean and "Understanding Probability: Chance Rules in Everyday Life" by Henk Tijms are two recommended books for introductory Probability and Statistics. These books cover a wide range of topics including classical probability, random variables and probability distributions, statistical measures, and special discrete and continuous distributions. They also include exercises for further practice and understanding. "Probability: The Science of Uncertainty" is more suitable for a physicist, while "Understanding Probability: Chance Rules in Everyday Life" only requires high school algebra as a prerequisite. Both books are highly recommended for self-study and provide a comprehensive understanding of these subjects.

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  • #1
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I'm looking for a good and pedagogic book about introductory Probability and statistics. I'm trying to get into this subject by self study. I only have knowledge in basic calculus, a little about multivariable calculus and linear algebra.
I studying physics but I don't how much I'll be needing to know about these theories, so something suitable for a physicist would be nice. It's also fine if it's 2 separate books one on probability and one on statistics.
These subjects explained in books like Riley's "Mathematical Methods for Physics and Engineering", are just not explained in enough details.
 
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  • #2

Table of Contents:
Code:
[LIST]
[*] Introduction
[LIST]
[*] What is Probability?
[*] How is Uncertainty Quantified?
[*] Probability in Engineering and the Sciences
[*] What is Actuarial Science
[*] What is Financial Engineering?
[*] Interpretations of Probability
[*] Probability Modeling in Practice
[*] Outline of This Book
[*] Chapter Summary
[*] Further Reading
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] A Survey of Some Basic Concepts Through Examples
[LIST]
[*] Payoff in a Simple Game
[*] Choosing Between Payoffs
[*] Future Lifetimes
[*] Simple and Compound Growth
[*] Chapter Summary
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Classical Probability
[LIST]
[*] The Formal Langauge of Classical Probability
[*] Conditional Probability
[*] The Law of Total Probability
[*] Bayes' Theorem
[*] Chapter Summary
[*] Exercises
[*] Appendix on Sets, Combinatorics, and Basic Probability Rules
[/LIST]
[*] Random Variables and Probability Distributions
[LIST]
[*] Definitions and Basic Properties
[LIST]
[*] What is a Random Variable?
[*] What is a Probability Distribution?
[*] Types of Distributions
[*] Probability Mass Functions
[*] Probability Density Functions
[*] Mixed Distributions
[*] Equality and Equivalence of Random Variables
[*] Random Vectors and Bivariate Distributions
[*] Dependence and Independence of Random Variables
[*] The Law of Total Probability and Bayes' Theorem (Distributional Forms)
[*] Arithmetic Operations on Random Variables
[*] The Difference Between Sums and Mixtures
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Statistical Measures of Expectation, Variation and Risk
[LIST]
[*] Expectation
[*] Deviation from Expectation
[*] Higher Moments
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Alternative Ways of Specifying Probability Distributions
[LIST]
[*] Moment and Cumulant Generating Functions
[*] Survival and Hazard Functions
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Chapter Summary
[*] Additional Exercises
[*] Appendix on Generalized Density Functions (Optional)
[/LIST]
[*] Special Discrete Distributions
[LIST]
[*] The Binomial Distribution
[*] The Poisson Distribution
[*] The Negative Binomial Distribution
[*] The Geometric Distribution
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Special Continuous Distributions
[LIST]
[*] Special Continuous Distributions for Modeling Uncertain Sizes
[LIST]
[*] The Exponential Distribution
[*] The Gamma Distribution
[*] The Pareto Distribution
[/LIST]
[*] Special Continuous Distribution for Modeling Lifetimes
[LIST]
[*] The Weibull Distribution
[*] The DeMoivre Distribution
[/LIST]
[*] Other Special Distributions
[LIST]
[*] The Normal Distribution
[*] The Lognormal Distribution
[*] The Beta Distribution
[/LIST]
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Transformation of Random Variables
[LIST]
[*] Determining the Distribution of a Transformed Random Variable
[*] Expectation of a Transformed Random Variable
[*] Insurance Contracts with Caps, Deductibles and Coinsurance (Optional)
[*] Life Insurance and annuity Contracts (Optional)
[*] Reliability of Systems with Multiple Components or Processes (Optional)
[*] Trigonometric Transformations (Optional)
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Sums and Products of Random Variables
[LIST]
[*] Techniques for Calculating the Distribution of a Sum
[LIST]
[*] Using the Joint Density
[*] Using the Law of Total Probability
[*] Convolutions
[/LIST]
[*] Distributions of Products and Quotients
[*] Expectations of Sums and Products
[LIST]
[*] Formulas for the Expectation of a Sum or Product
[*] The Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality
[*] Covariance and Correlation
[/LIST]
[*] The Law of Large Numbers
[LIST]
[*] Motivating Example: Premium Determination in Insurance
[*] Statement and Proof of the Law
[*] Some Misconceptions Surround the Law of Large Numbers
[/LIST]
[*] The Central Limit Theorem
[*] Normal Power Approximations (Optional)
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Mixtures and Compound Distributions
[LIST]
[*] Definitions and Basic Properties
[*] Some Important Examples of Mixtures Arising in Insurance
[*] Mean and Variance of a Mixture
[*] Moment Generating Function of a Mixture
[*] Compound Distributions
[LIST]
[*] General Formulas
[*] Special Compound Distributions
[/LIST]
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] The Markowitz Investment Portfolio Selection Model
[LIST]
[*] Portfolios of Two Securities
[*] Portfolios of Two Risky Securities and a Risk-Free Asset
[*] Portfolio Selection with Many Securities
[*] The Capital Asset Pricing Model
[*] Further Reading
[*] Exercises
[/LIST]
[*] Appendixes
[LIST]
[*] The Gamma Function
[*] The Incomplete Gamma Function
[*] The Beta Function
[*] The Incomplete Beta Function
[*] The Standard Normal Distribution
[*] Mathematica commands for Generating the Graphs of Special Distributions
[*] Elementary Financial Mathematics
[/LIST]
[*] Answers to Selected Exercises
[*] Index
[/LIST]
 
Last edited:
  • #3

Table of Contents:
Code:
[LIST]
[*] Preface
[*] Introduction
[*] Probability in Action
[LIST]
[*] Probability questions
[*] The law of large numbers and simulation
[LIST]
[*] The law of large numbers for probabilities
[*] Basic probability concepts
[*] Expected value and the law of large numbers
[*] The drunkard's walk
[*] The St. Petersburg paradox
[*] Roulette and the law of large numbers
[*] The Kelly betting system
[*] Random-number generator
[*] Simulating from probability distributions
[*] Problems
[/LIST]
[*] Probabilities in everyday life
[LIST]
[*] The birthday problem
[*] The coupon collector's problem
[*] Craps
[*] Gambling systems for roulette
[*] The 1970 draft lottery
[*] Bootstrap method
[*] Problems
[/LIST]
[*] Rare events and lotteries
[LIST]
[*] The binomial distribution
[*] The Poisson distribution
[*] The hypergeometric distribution
[*] Problems
[/LIST]
[*] Probability and Statistics
[LIST]
[*] The normal curve
[*] The concept of standard deviation
[*] The square-root law
[*] The central limit theorem
[*] Graphical illustration of the central limit theorem
[*] Statistical applications
[*] Confidence intervals for simulations
[*] The central limit theorem and random walks
[*] Falsified data and Benford's law
[*] The normal distribution strikes again
[*] Statistics and probability theory
[*] Problems
[/LIST]
[*] Chance trees and Bayes' rule
[LIST]
[*] The Monty Hall dilemma
[*] The test paradox
[*] Problems
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[*] Essentials of Probability
[LIST]
[*] Foundations of probability theory
[LIST]
[*] Probabilistic foundations
[*] Compound chance experiments
[*] Some basic rules
[/LIST]
[*] Conditional probability and Bayes
[LIST]
[*] Conditional probability
[*] Bayes' rules in odds form
[*] Bayesian statistics
[/LIST]
[*] Basic rules for discrete random variables
[LIST]
[*] Random variables
[*] Expected value
[*] Expected value of sums of random variables
[*] Substitution rule and variance
[*] Independence of random variables
[*] Special discrete distributions
[/LIST]
[*] Continuous random variables
[LIST]
[*] Concept of probability density
[*] Important probability densities
[*] Transformation of random variables
[*] Failure rate functions
[/LIST]
[*] Jointly distributed random variables
[LIST]
[*] Joint probability densities
[*] Marginal probability densities
[*] Transformation of random variables
[*] Covariance and correlation coefficient
[/LIST]
[*] Multivariate normal distribution
[LIST]
[*] Bivariate normal distribution
[*] Multivariate normal distribution
[*] Multidimensional central limit theorem
[*] The chi-square test
[/LIST]
[*] Conditional distributions
[LIST]
[*] Conditional probability densities
[*] Law of conditional probabilities
[*] Law of conditional expectations
[/LIST]
[*] Generating functions
[LIST]
[*] Generating functions
[*] Moment-generating functions
[/LIST]
[*] Markov Chains
[LIST]
[*] Markov model
[*] Transient analysis of Markov chains
[*] Absorbing Markov chains
[*] Long-run analysis of Markov chains
[/LIST]
[/LIST]
[*] Appendix: Counting methods and [itex]e^x[/itex]
[*] Recommended reading
[*] Answers to odd-numbered problems
[*] Bibliography
[*] Index
[/LIST]
 
Last edited by a moderator:

1. What is probability?

Probability is a branch of mathematics that deals with the likelihood or chance of an event occurring. It is used to quantify uncertainty and make predictions based on available information.

2. How is probability calculated?

The probability of an event occurring is calculated by dividing the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes. This is known as the classical probability formula.

3. What are the different types of probability?

There are three main types of probability: classical, empirical, and subjective. Classical probability is based on theoretical assumptions, empirical probability is based on observed data, and subjective probability is based on personal beliefs or opinions.

4. How is probability used in real life?

Probability is used in various fields such as science, finance, and insurance to make predictions and informed decisions. For example, it can be used to determine the chances of a stock market crash or the likelihood of a person developing a certain disease.

5. What are some common misconceptions about probability?

One common misconception about probability is that it can predict the outcome of a single event. In reality, probability can only provide a measure of likelihood based on available information. Another misconception is that past events can influence the likelihood of future events, when in fact, each event is independent and unaffected by previous outcomes.

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