Chance: The Life of Games & the Game of Life

This is a unique book on how probability affects our everyday lives. It guides the reader in an almost chronological trip through the fascinating and amazing laws of chance, omnipresent in the natural world and in our daily lives. Along the way many fascinating topics are discussed. These include challenging probability paradoxes, "paranormal" coincidences, game odds, and causes and effects. Also discussed are the interpretation of opinion polls, winning chances as a game proceeds, the nature of randomness, entropy and randomness, randomness in life, algorithmic complexity and the undecidability of randomness. Finally the author discusses possibilities and limitations of learning the laws of a Universe immersed in chance events. This charming book, with its many easy-to-follow mathematical examples, will inform and entertain the scientist and non-scientist alike.