Definition:Probability Theory
Contents
Definition
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics which studies probability spaces.
Also see
- Results about probability theory can be found here.
Historical Note
The discipline of probability theory is suggested by some sources to be a creation shared between Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal.
Their intent was to describe certain games of chance and to calculate various probabilities.
They developed the fundamental principles in a series of letters in the year $1654$.
The field was developed significantly by Jacob Bernoulli, the results of his research appearing in his posthumous Ars Conjectandi of $1713$.
Modern probability theory is more than just calculating the chance of getting $m$ heads while tossing $n$ coins.
It is used to study problems in fields as diverse as economics, genetics, sociology, astronomy and physics.
Sources
- 1972: Murray R. Spiegel and R.W. Boxer: Theory and Problems of Statistics (SI ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): Chapter $1$: Variables and Graphs: Population and Sample. Descriptive and Inductive Statistics
- 1977: Gary Chartrand: Introductory Graph Theory ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 4.2$: Trees and Probability
- 1986: Geoffrey Grimmett and Dominic Welsh: Probability: An Introduction ... (previous) ... (next): $\S 1.1$: Experiments with chance
