Chances and probability play a role in many aspects of our daily life. Simple examples: play the lottery to win millions of dollars and the chance that you will have adverse weather tomorrow. However, Amir D. Atsel, author of the book “Chance: A Guide to Gambling, Love, the Stock Market, and Just About Everything Else,” shows that chance and probability can be transferred to a completely different, much more interesting level.
The book Aczel is only 160 pages, which simplifies its reading without a large numerical theory and complex mathematical equations. The book looks like two hearts from a simple deck of cards, showing that playing cards is an obvious place to join the game. The lid is well designed; it's bright and hard to miss. Aczel gives his readers simple equations to prove his points and the points of other mathematicians and statisticians who studied numbers and contributed to this book, allowing people to read this book from any background and to understand it well.
Some of the many laws and theories of Amir Adzel include the Law of the Unions, dependence and independence, additions and unions of independent events, the Pascal Triangle and the Paradox of Inspection. All discussed laws and theories are contained in simple terms and verified using well-thought examples. I will not discuss dozens of equations and examples from the book in this article, but I will talk about the two most interesting theories that statistics have shown that Aczel devotes time to discussion in the book.
Perhaps the most interesting chapter in this book is called “How to succeed in love (find the best apartment or accept the best puppy.”) Everyone is probably interested in how to find the right girl or boy, the best puppy, or even find a house that not in a bad neighborhood with bad neighbors. Thanks to Aczel, we can all make decisions now that are so important in our lives, using a simple idea. Statistics show that after you have selected about 37 percent of the available population in your current life, you must agree with the next available person / object that is better than the previous ones. As for love, if you meet 37 percent of all single men or women you know in your life, and then you start looking for someone who will make you happier than all the previous 37 percent, you should be content with! It seems simple and slightly ridiculous, but it is a science, and not just some random theory.
Another interesting chapter is devoted to the likelihood that you will have the same birthday as someone else in your environment. The first part of this chapter says that in order for two people in a room with the same birthday to have a 50% chance, you are 1.2 times the square root of the number of opportunities to get your answer in percent from 100. The second part of the chapter is basically the same, but it looks for a 95 percent probability instead of a 50 percent potential. The theory is the same, except that you multiply 1.6 times the square root of the number of opportunities to get your answer in percent of 100. Aczel uses the example that if you multiply 1.2 times the square root of 365 (days in ), you will get an answer of about 23. This means that if there are 23 people in the room, then the probability that two people will have the same birthday will be 50%. The results are surprising and very interesting.
Amir D.Atsel’s book may look simple and as a quick check when examining the cover and the first few pages, but there is much more to this book than it seems at first glance. At Azzel, you will read several parts of your book many times so that you can grasp some of the theories he mentions in your mind. The two ideas mentioned in this article have remained in my mind since I read the book twice and are great for talking in the office or at a party. I recommend you spend a day or two to read this book, and you will be surprised how to surprise your friends with your new knowledge. I rate this book 4 of 5.
