Interpreting Probability (Hardcover)

David Howie

ISBN 10: 0521812518 / ISBN 13: 9780521812511

Published by Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2002

About this Item

Hardcover. The term probability can be used in two main senses. In the frequency interpretation it is a limiting ratio in a sequence of repeatable events. In the Bayesian view, probability is a mental construct representing uncertainty. This book is about these two types of probability and investigates how, despite being adopted by scientists and statisticians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bayesianism was discredited as a theory of scientific inference during the 1920s and 1930s. Through the examination of a dispute between two British scientists, the author argues that a choice between the two interpretations is not forced by pure logic or the mathematics of the situation, but depends on the experiences and aims of the individuals involved. The book should be of interest to students and scientists interested in statistics and probability theories and to general readers with an interest in the history, sociology and philosophy of science. This book investigates how Bayesianism as one theory of probability was discredited during the 1920s and 1930s by two British scientists and shows how the choice of a certain interpretation of probability depends on the experiences of the individuals involved. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780521812511

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Interpreting Probability (Hardcover)
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
• Publication Date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0521812518
• ISBN 13: 9780521812511
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

This book is a study of the concept of probability as it has been used and applied across a number of scientific disciplines from genetics to geophysics. Probability has a dual aspect: sometimes it is a numerical ratio; sometimes, in the Bayesian interpretation, a degree of belief. David Howie examines probabilistic theories of scientific knowledge, and asks how, despite being adopted by many scientists and statisticians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bayesianism was discredited as a theory of scientific inference during the 1920s and 1930s. Through a close examination of a dispute between two British scientists, the author argues that a choice between the two interpretations of probability is not forced by pure logic, or the mathematics of the situation, but depends on the experiences and aims of the individuals involved, and their views of the correct form of scientific inquiry.

Book Description

Probability can be a numerical ratio; or, in the Bayesian sense, a degree of belief.This book is about these two types of probability and investigates how Bayesianism was discredited during the 1920s and 1930s. By examining a dispute between two Brisith scientists, the author argues that a choice between the two interpretations depends on the experiences of the individuals involved.The book should be of interest to scholars interested in statistics and probability theories and to general readers with an interest in the history, sociology and philosophy of science.