Obsession and competitiveness fueled early statisticians to solve all sorts of problems. Here are a few stories of some or the problems statisticians considered.
- [Instructor] Math isn't new.…Statistics, though, it isn't that old.…And believe it or not,…if it wasn't for a French writer that fancied gambling,…who knows when the modern theory…of probability would have been discovered.…The French writer's name was Antoine Gombaud.…He preferred being called the Chevalier de Mere.…Dice was his game…and it seemed that he liked gambling a lot.…And he kept records.…Anyway, the Chevalier,…he figured that the odds of rolling at least one six…in four rolls,…was the same as rolling at least one double-six…in 24 rolls.…
It seemed logical,…but his meticulous gambling records didn't agree.…He needed answers,…but there was no such thing as probability.…Where could he turn?…Well, the Chevalier, he liked hanging out…in some fairly elite intellectual circles.…This is how he knew the French prodigy, Blaise Pascal.…Pascal, he's an all-time math Hall of Famer.…The Chevalier, writer, gambler, accountant.…
He asked Pascal to help him solve this problem.…Pascal accepts the challenge…and reins in his buddy…
Author
Eddie Davila
Updated
6/28/2019Released
10/5/2018Note: Because this is an ongoing series, viewers will not receive a certificate of completion.
Skill Level Intermediate
Duration
Views
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Video: Historic stats stories