The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives
by: Leonard Mlodinow
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Amazon.com Review:
Amazon Guest Review: Stephen Hawking
Published in 1988, Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time became perhaps one of the unlikeliest bestsellers in history: a not-so-dumbed-down exploration of physics and the universe that occupied the London Sunday Times bestseller list for 237 weeks. Later successes include 1995s A Briefer History of Time, The Universe in a Nutshell, and God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs that Changed History. Stephen Hawking is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
In The Drunkards Walk Leonard Mlodinow provides readers with a wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives. With insight he shows how the hallmarks of chance are apparent in the course of events all around us. The understanding of randomness has brought about profound changes in the way we view our surroundings, and our universe. I am pleased that Leonard has skillfully explained this important branch of mathematics. --Stephen Hawking
Product Description:
In this irreverent and illuminating book, acclaimed writer and scientist Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, change, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback.As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious cases, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance.
The rise and fall of your favorite movie star of the most reviled CEO--in fact, of all our destinies--reflects as much as planning and innate abilities.Even the legendary Roger Maris, who beat Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, was in all likelihood not great but just lucky.And it might be shocking to realize that you are twice as likely to be killed in a car accident on your way to buying a lottery ticket than you are to win the lottery.
How could it have happened that a wine was given five out of five stars, the highest rating, in one journal and in another it was called the worst wine of the decade? Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how wine ratings, school grades, political polls, and many other things in daily life are less reliable than we believe.By showing us the true nature of change and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives fresh insight into what is really meaningful and how we can make decisions based on a deeper truth.From the classroom to the courtroom, from financial markets to supermarkets, from the doctor's office to the Oval Office, Mlodinow's insights will intrigue, awe, and inspire.
Offering readers not only a tour of randomness, chance, and probability but also a new way of looking at the world, this original, unexpected journey reminds us that much in our lives is about as predictable as the steps of a stumbling man fresh from a night at the bar.
Amazon Guest Review: Stephen Hawking
Published in 1988, Stephen Hawkings A Brief History of Time became perhaps one of the unlikeliest bestsellers in history: a not-so-dumbed-down exploration of physics and the universe that occupied the London Sunday Times bestseller list for 237 weeks. Later successes include 1995s A Briefer History of Time, The Universe in a Nutshell, and God Created the Integers: The Mathematical Breakthroughs that Changed History. Stephen Hawking is Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge.
In The Drunkards Walk Leonard Mlodinow provides readers with a wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives. With insight he shows how the hallmarks of chance are apparent in the course of events all around us. The understanding of randomness has brought about profound changes in the way we view our surroundings, and our universe. I am pleased that Leonard has skillfully explained this important branch of mathematics. --Stephen HawkingProduct Description:
In this irreverent and illuminating book, acclaimed writer and scientist Leonard Mlodinow shows us how randomness, change, and probability reveal a tremendous amount about our daily lives, and how we misunderstand the significance of everything from a casual conversation to a major financial setback.As a result, successes and failures in life are often attributed to clear and obvious cases, when in actuality they are more profoundly influenced by chance.
The rise and fall of your favorite movie star of the most reviled CEO--in fact, of all our destinies--reflects as much as planning and innate abilities.Even the legendary Roger Maris, who beat Babe Ruth's single-season home run record, was in all likelihood not great but just lucky.And it might be shocking to realize that you are twice as likely to be killed in a car accident on your way to buying a lottery ticket than you are to win the lottery.
How could it have happened that a wine was given five out of five stars, the highest rating, in one journal and in another it was called the worst wine of the decade? Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how wine ratings, school grades, political polls, and many other things in daily life are less reliable than we believe.By showing us the true nature of change and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives fresh insight into what is really meaningful and how we can make decisions based on a deeper truth.From the classroom to the courtroom, from financial markets to supermarkets, from the doctor's office to the Oval Office, Mlodinow's insights will intrigue, awe, and inspire.
Offering readers not only a tour of randomness, chance, and probability but also a new way of looking at the world, this original, unexpected journey reminds us that much in our lives is about as predictable as the steps of a stumbling man fresh from a night at the bar.
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Customer Reviews
Average Rating:
Rating: 
- A Drunkard's Review
This is interesting material which is of use by anyone who has to evaluate situations and make decisions.Especially in today's volatile world, the ability to at least identify all possible outcomes of an event or situation can be of great value.The book left me thinking I had a better grasp of probability and situation analysis than I did going in and most of this material was not new to me. Mlodinow does a good job of covering a lot of material in an understandable way without overly dumbing ... Read More
Rating: 
- A great take home message ...
... you cannot change randomness but you can give yourself more shots on goal! It's eye-openeing that genius has a lot more to do with not giving up and trying again than common sense would predict.
Rating: - If you like probabiliy, you will probabily like this book
The book starts with a captivating prologue:
"A few years ago a man won the Spanish national lottery with a ticket that ended in the number 48. Proud of his "accomplishment," he revealed the theory that brought him the riches. I dreamed of the number 7 for seven straight nights, he said, "and 7 times 7 is 48." Those of us with a better command of our multiplication tables might chuckle at the man's error, but we all create our own view of the world and then employ it to filter and process ... Read More
Rating: - Excellent history of randomness
This is a highly readable survey on randomness.It is filled with examples of how our intuitions about random events are wrong.My favorite is a description of an experiment.In it, the subjects are presented with a series of guesses about some random event--for example, wither a red or green light will appear.One method is to guess the color that appears most frequently.This is what rats do.If the green light is set to light up 80% of the time, the the rat "wins" 80% of the time.The problem ... Read More
Rating: 
- Highly probable you won't like the book
This book is one part introduction to probability and one part biography of mathematicians. If that interests you, then you'll probably like it. But I'll bet you find it a snoozer and you'll find it in no way lives up to the subtitle "how randomness rules our lives".
- A Drunkard's ReviewThis is interesting material which is of use by anyone who has to evaluate situations and make decisions.Especially in today's volatile world, the ability to at least identify all possible outcomes of an event or situation can be of great value.The book left me thinking I had a better grasp of probability and situation analysis than I did going in and most of this material was not new to me. Mlodinow does a good job of covering a lot of material in an understandable way without overly dumbing ... Read More
- A great take home message ...... you cannot change randomness but you can give yourself more shots on goal! It's eye-openeing that genius has a lot more to do with not giving up and trying again than common sense would predict.
- If you like probabiliy, you will probabily like this bookThe book starts with a captivating prologue:
"A few years ago a man won the Spanish national lottery with a ticket that ended in the number 48. Proud of his "accomplishment," he revealed the theory that brought him the riches. I dreamed of the number 7 for seven straight nights, he said, "and 7 times 7 is 48." Those of us with a better command of our multiplication tables might chuckle at the man's error, but we all create our own view of the world and then employ it to filter and process ... Read More
- Excellent history of randomnessThis is a highly readable survey on randomness.It is filled with examples of how our intuitions about random events are wrong.My favorite is a description of an experiment.In it, the subjects are presented with a series of guesses about some random event--for example, wither a red or green light will appear.One method is to guess the color that appears most frequently.This is what rats do.If the green light is set to light up 80% of the time, the the rat "wins" 80% of the time.The problem ... Read More
- Highly probable you won't like the bookThis book is one part introduction to probability and one part biography of mathematicians. If that interests you, then you'll probably like it. But I'll bet you find it a snoozer and you'll find it in no way lives up to the subtitle "how randomness rules our lives".
