Any Probability/Statistic majors among us?
#13
Hi,

Quote:Pete, do you happen to know some titles of good text books dealing with probability calculus (prefereably something that can still be ordered)? In terms of the level I am thinking about first year university course level (for general science students, not mathematics students) or maybe end of high school level.
Sorry, I can't really help you on this. I was never really interested in probability and statistics for itself and never took a course in it. I was first forced to learn some when taking statistical mechanics (we used Atoms and Information Theory IIRC). Then some of the problems I worked on were best solved by Monte Carlo methods, so I did some library research. Laboratory work forced me to learn some things about statistics and treatment of experimental data. Then working Pk (probability of kill), CEP (circular error probable), survivability, vulnerability, and reliability led me to do more research. So, I can't even remember the books I used, much less recommend any.

However, what I can recommend is a research strategy that has let me get on the curve in many subjects over the years. You need access to a good open stacks library. Then, either by consulting a list of library numbers or by looking up a few key words, determine the location of the type of material of interest. Go to those stacks and grab a few 'interesting' looking books and take them to a table. Come up with a short list of keywords and look for them in each book's index. Anything you find, do a quick check of the text to see if it is clear and readable. If so, put that book on the 'keep' pile. When you've found three or four books, check them out. Take them home and treat them like dictionaries, not novels. Skim through them, find the parts that you're interested in and study just that. Pretty soon, you too can be an ex-spurt on anything. :whistling:

--Pete

How big was the aquarium in Noah's ark?

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Any Probability/Statistic majors among us? - by --Pete - 10-20-2009, 05:46 PM

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