Probability For Dummies (For Dummies (Math & Science))

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Customer Reviews:

Superb [Posted on 2007-04-03]
Very useful common sense approach to subject. Recommended to students taking intreoductory course in the subject.

A little skeptical [Posted on 2008-02-07]
I was a little disappointed to see a mistake in the introduction, under discussion of odds. The claim made was that if a horse had a 50% chance of winning, the odds were 2 to 1. In fact the odds are 2 FOR 1 or 1 to 1. If a horse has a .50 probability of winning, it stands that it also has a .50 probability of losing. 0.50 = 0.50 therefore 1 TO 1. In a gambling setting, if someone paid you 2 to 1 odds on a .50 probablility event, they would go broke quickly. If they paid you 2 FOR 1 everyone would break even in the long run.

Not bad, but really for dummies! [Posted on 2008-03-11]
I mostly enjoyed this book, and I now feel more comfortable with certain concepts that I had always tended to ignore. Gone are the days when, upon hearing the slightest complex-sounding word on probabilities, I would automatically revert to the ostrich technique. This book definitely helps you face such little words in probabilities and statistics, and it truly gives you confidence in doing so.

Yet, important as the above may be if you do not intend to use a lot of probs theory, that's about all this book does for you... Evidently, that's just not enough for someone you wants to start using probabilities. And my intuition is that, if you want to read a book on probabilities, that's because you want to use them.

Plainly, this book is a little bit too easy. I do not consider myself to be anything like beyond the mean of a normal distribution of IQ scores. And yet I constantly thought that I needed a more of two things, and less of another.
1) I needed more exercises: if one buys this, it is probably because one wants to start using probs, and exercises are the best way to start learning; and
2) I needed more text on applications: if one buys this, it is probably because they want to see how props are used in real-world and/or academic contexts.
3) Conversely, I thought I needed a little bit less of repetition: every chapter need not read as a self-standing piece, which recaps everything and then adds just a tiny little bit more. People tend to read books from the beginning to the end; they do not just open this king of books at a random page and start reading... In my experience, repetition reaches a point where it starts having decreasing returns: instead of consolidating knowledge, it confuses (he or she starts wondering what is new about the new page or chapter) and bores the reader.

So, do buy this book if you're revising for exams, or if you really know nothing about probabilties. But if you either care to really learn about probabilities, or you already know a little bit about them, then try another book that can get you further (lots of books on finite maths take you further than this one in just one chapter...).

Excellent introduction for the subject of Probability [Posted on 2008-05-29]
"Probability for Dummies" is an excellent book for students who are new to the subject of probability. It is easy to read, witty and very informative. This book would also serve as a fine review for students with previous experience in probability and statistics as well, for it deals with subject matter relative to both (in fact, the author makes references to another of her books, "Statistics for Dummies"). Highly recommended!

probability explained [Posted on 2008-07-14]
A complex subject explained in a straightforward way with real world examples. Another exellent book by the same author of Statistics for Dummies.

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