Book Details :
Title : The Monty Hall Problem: The Remarkable Story of Math's Most Contentious Brain Teaser
Author : Jason Rosenhouse
Hardcover : 208 pages
Publisher : Oxford University Press, USA; 1 edition (June 4, 2009)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 0195367898
ISBN-13 : 978-0195367898
Size : 5.02 MB.
Type : Pdf.
Upload by : www.boxmaths.com
Book Description :

Mathematicians call it the Monty Hall Problem, and it is one of the most interesting mathematical brain teasers of recent times. Imagine that you face three doors, behind one of which is a prize. You choose one but do not open it. The host--call him Monty Hall--opens a different door, always choosing one he knows to be empty. Left with two doors, will you do better by sticking with your first choice, or by switching to the other remaining door? In this light-hearted yet ultimately serious book, Jason Rosenhouse explores the history of this fascinating puzzle. Using a minimum of mathematics (and none at all for much of the book), he shows how the problem has fascinated philosophers, psychologists, and many others, and examines the many variations that have appeared over the years. As Rosenhouse demonstrates, the Monty Hall Problem illuminates fundamental mathematical issues and has abiding philosophical implications. Perhaps most important, he writes, the problem opens a window on our cognitive difficulties in reasoning about uncertainty.

"Those intrigued by the original Monty Hall problem will find that this book is a superb source of variants of the problem, pays careful attention to the hidden assumptions behind the problems, and is written in a witty accessible style that never lapses into flippancy. This is a model of how to accessibly introduce mathematical material at an elementary level that is not a mere popularization of the material. A virtue of the book is that it goes beyond mere exposition to make some serious contributions to the discussion, including a proof that the strategy of switching at the last minute in the progressive version is uniquely optimal and a discussion of some philosophical treatments on the topic."-- Mathematical Reviews

About author :

Jason Rosenhouse is an Associate Professor of Mathematics at James Madison University in Virginia.