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Probability Theory Quotes

At a purely formal level, one could call probability theory the study of measure spaces with total measure one, but that would be like calling number theory the study of strings of digits which terminate.

At a purely formal level, one could call probability theory the study of measure spaces with total measure one, but that would be like calling number theory the study of strings of digits which terminate.

Terence Tao
Probability Theory, Numbers, Space
Terence Tao (2012). “Topics in Random Matrix Theory”, p.2, American Mathematical Soc.

Probability theory is nothing but common sense reduced to calculation.

Pierre-Simon Laplace
Probability Theory, Common Sense, Calculations
"Théorie Analytique Des Probabilités". Book by Pierre-Simon Laplace, second edition, 1814.

Probability is expectation founded upon partial knowledge. A perfect acquaintance with all the circumstances affecting the occurrence of an event would change expectation into certainty, and leave nether room nor demand for a theory of probabilities.

George Boole
Probability Theory, Perfect, Expectations
Collected Logical Works Volume II An Investigation of the Law of Thought Chapter XVI (p. 258)

The theory of probabilities is at bottom nothing but common sense reduced to calculus; it enables us to appreciate with exactness that which accurate minds feel with a sort of instinct for which of times they are unable to account.

Pierre-Simon Laplace
Science, Probability Theory, Appreciate
"Théorie Analytique Des Probabilités". Book by Pierre-Simon Laplace, second edition, 1814.

Entropy theory, on the other hand, is not concerned with the probability of succession in a series of items but with the overall distribution of kinds of items in a given arrangement.

Rudolf Arnheim
Science, Hands, Probability Theory
Rudolf Arnheim (1974). “Entropy and Art: An Essay on Disorder and Order”, p.19, Univ of California Press

In no other branch of mathematics is it so easy for experts to blunder as in probability theory.

Martin Gardner
Education, Math, Probability Theory

Maybe we should teach schoolchildren probability theory and investment risk management.

Andrew Lo
Probability Theory, Risk, Management

One of the most striking and fundamental things about probability theory is that it leads to an understanding of the otherwise strange fact that events which are individually capricious and unpredictable can, when treated en masse, lead to very stable average performances.

Warren Weaver
Average, Probability Theory, Understanding
Warren Weaver (2012). “Lady Luck: The Theory of Probability”, p.361, Courier Corporation

It was our use of probability theory as logic that has enabled us to do so easily what was impossible for those who thought of probability as a physical phenomenon associated with "randomness". Quite the opposite; we have thought of probability distributions as carriers of information.

Edwin Thompson Jaynes
Opposites, Probability Theory, Use

I failed math twice, never fully grasping probability theory. I mean, first off, who cares if you pick a black ball or a white ball out of the bag? And second, if you’re bent over about the color, don’t leave it to chance. Look in the damn bag and pick the color you want.

Janet Evanovich
Mean, Math, Probability Theory
Janet Evanovich (2010). “Hard Eight: A Stephanie Plum Novel”, p.113, Macmillan

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