What Are the Odds: The Chances of Extraordinary Events in Everyday Life

By Jefferson Hane Weaver

Book Overview

We're barraged with statistics every day about health risks, life expectancy, and the chances of success, but to most of us all these numbers and percentages mean very little. If you're curious about how statistics can significantly impact your life but don't want to wrestle with the equations in a dry-as-dust textbook, this lighthearted, tongue-in-cheek, whirlwind tour of entertaining statistics has everything you need.Not only will you be amused by J. H. Weaver's many entertaining examples, but you'll actually learn something about how statistics work. Even the most math phobic individual won't be able to resist delving into the many provocative topics covered, including: Dating--What are the chances of finding your perfect mate?Health--What are the odds that you will have surgery performed this year?Success--What is the likelihood that this book will be a best-seller?Weaver admirably succeeds in proving that statistics can be fun, while showing that a knowledge of the probabilities for any given situation can help you avoid risks and increase your chances of a successful and enjoyable life.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1573929336
• ISBN13: 9781573929332
• Release Date: February 2002
• Publisher: Prometheus Books
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 0.90 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 6.0" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Cute little book and nice read

This is a good book about a pretty interesting (and important) topic: probability and chance. I like the examples Weaver used and his presentation was good too. Although he reports a lot of numbers and statistical figures (that's the point of the book), there isn't much math -- almost none, in fact. This might not be the best way to present this material if you want to understand the underlying math (one can argue it's being oversimplified) but here's the thing: most people are interested in the final numbers and the bottom line, and wouldn't mind some commentary to go along with it. This is exactly what Weaver does in this book: he presents a number of topics that most people can relate to, tells you about some interesting numbers, and provides a bit of explanation, some commentary, and a few jokes here and there. In short you will like this book if you don't buy it expecting to get a rigorous mathematical explanation of, well, anything. Weaver never claims his book contains any math that is the least bit complicated, and so I think it's fair to say the content matches the description, and for that I give this book a good rating.

What Are The Odds: The Chances of Extraordinary Events

This is one of the funniest and most informative books I've ever read about one of the most mundane and potentially boring topics ever. Jefferson Hane Weaver takes a "boring as watching paint dry" subject and makes it entertaining, informative and (believe it or not) a page-turner. Basically, I learned a littel bit about "Odds" and laughed my ass off in the process.Well Done Mr. Weaver.