The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives - Hardcover

Mlodinow, Leonard

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0713999225 ISBN 13: 9780713999228

Publisher: Allen Lane, 2008

Synopsis

In 1905 Albert Einstein published a shocking explanation of Brownian Motion, the random movement of particles, likening it to the kind you would observe watching a drunkard stumbling down the road. The Drunkard’s Walk became a powerful tool in understanding the purely random – that, which by definition, has no specific pattern.

In his new book, Leonard Mlodinow examines the law of the Drunkard’s Walk in relation to everyday human life, the way in which we are all continually pushed this way and that by a variety of random events that, together with our reactions to them, account for much of our particular path in life.

Mlodinow reveals the reasons behind behind traffic jams, the spread of rumours on the internet, the length of time you can expect a wad of money to last in Las Vegas, why you have to stir coffee and the way the scent of a perfume spreads through a room, to name but a few. This engaging read reveals the nature of random processes in daily life, thereby altogether altering the way we perceive the events that happen around us.

About this title

Review:

"A wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives."--Stephen Hawking, author of" A Brief History of Time" ""The Drunkard's Walk "is a magnificent exploration of the role that chance plays in our lives. Often historical, occasionally hysterical, and consistently smart and funny, this book challenges everything we think we know about how the world works. The probability is high that you will be entertained and enlightened by this intelligent charmer."--Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology, Harvard University, and author of "Stumbling on Happiness ""Fast, chatty, very readable, and a fine introduction to ideas that everyone should know." --David Berlinski, author of "A Tour of the Calculus" "A primer on the science of probability."-"The Washington Post Book World" "Mlodinow writes in a breezy style, interspersing probabilistic mind-benders with portraits of theorists ...The result is a readable crash course in randomness."-"The New York Times Book Review" "A jaunty read worthy of any beach or airplane. . . . Mlodinow has an intimate perspective on randomness. . . . He draws direct links from the works of history's greatest minds to the deeds of today's not-so-great ones, explaining phenomena like the prosecutor's fallacy (which helped acquit O.J. Simpson) and the iPod shuffle function (eventually programmed not to be truly random, lest songs hit upon eerie playing streaks)."-"The Austin Chronicle" "Please read "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives" by Leonard Mlodinow, a history, explanation, and exaltation of probability theory. . . . Mlodinow . . . thinks in equations but explains in anecdote, simile, and occasional bursts of neon. . . .The results are mind-bending."-"Fortune " "Challenges our intuitions about probability and explores how, by understanding randomness, we can better grasp our world."-"Seed Magazine" "[Mlodinow is] the perfect guy to revea "If you're strong enough to have some of your favorite assumptions challenged, please read "The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives" by Leonard Mlodinow, a history, explanation, and exaltation of probability theory. . . .The results are mind-bending."--"Fortune ""Challenges our intuitions about probability and explores how, by understanding randomness, we can better grasp our world."--"Seed Magazine" "A wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives."--Stephen Hawking, author of" A Brief History of Time" ""The Drunkard's Walk "is a magnificent exploration of the role that chance plays in our lives. Often historical, occasionally hysterical, and consistently smart and funny, this book challenges everything we think we know about how the world works. The probability is high that you will be entertained and enlightened by this intelligent charmer."--Daniel Gilbert, professor of psychology, Harvard University, and author of "Stumbling on Happiness ""Fast, chatty, very readable, and a fine introduction to ideas that everyone should know." --David Berlinski, author of "A Tour of the Calculus"

About the Author:

Leonard Mlodinow has a Ph.D., has been a member of the faculty of the California Institute of Technology and a television writer in Hollywood, as well as developing many award winning CD-Roms. He is currently Vice President of Emerging Technologies and R&D at Scholastic Inc. and lives in New York City. His previous books include A Brief History of Time, which he co-authored, and Euclid's Window and Some Time with Feynman both published by Penguin.

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen Lane
• Publication date: 2008
• ISBN 10: 0713999225
• ISBN 13: 9780713999228
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 272