Reddit Reddit reviews How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking

We found 21 Reddit comments about How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

Science & Math
Books
Mathematics
Applied Mathematics
How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking
How Not to Be Wrong The Power of Mathematical Thinking
Check price on Amazon

21 Reddit comments about How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking:

u/vantu · 27 pointsr/LifeProTips

This is the work of Abraham Wald. If you're interested in survivorship bias, and thinking mathematically in general, please consider reading this book, which discusses this exact story, among others. I just read it last week, and I recommend it.

u/Aman_Fasil · 15 pointsr/xkcd

This book has a nice ELI5-style chapter on these voting systems. And it's just generally a really good book.

https://smile.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1496252174&sr=8-1&keywords=how+not+to+be+wrong

u/debteater · 12 pointsr/financialindependence

Anyone have any book recommendations for a 26 year old? No topic in particular, not necessarily financial/business or otherwise, just any suggestions?

I'm currently reading:
https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535
I'm not far into it, but it's basically on how to properly apply mathematics and logic to problem-solving. It's not exactly a new strategy for life or anything, but it's probably a good idea to read if you're analytical. I got it off Bill Gates reading list.

https://www.amazon.com/How-Lie-Statistics-Darrell-Huff/dp/0393310728
Found through the reading list- This one I've finished and can't recommend enough. It's from the 50's and it's intended reader were investment bankers. The main suggestion is hide yourself from bad information because you can't eliminate the impact it'll have on your decision making, and we aren't exactly equipped to know what's good or bad if we don't have experience in that realm already. It's a lot of common stuff people use stats for to push a product service policy etc.

https://www.amazon.com/Starship-Troopers-Robert-Heinlein/dp/0441783589/
I'm really into it. I love sci-fi. I don't necessarily love philosophy, but I'm really enjoying this book. It's hard for me to read a lot of at once but I don't ever want to put it down. The mindset of the character and narration really gets me. Since reading this, I've heard or noticed many many recommendations for Heinlein, though I'm unsure. He seems to be a proponent of fascism, but I guess he could just be writing down the fantasy of the particular fascist society he created and not necessarily saying "ya know this is how we should be" I don't know. I see conflicting things.

u/Shemptacular · 7 pointsr/CollegeBasketball

Also about the relationship between statistical analyses and building narratives.

There's a super good book that breaks a lot of this down in detail: https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535

u/bit_pusher · 5 pointsr/personalfinance

Link to Dave Ramsey on credit cards

I am not a fan of Dave Ramsey in many specific cases and this is one of them.

First, having access to a ready line of credit is important to financial security if you do not have access to a similar amount of immediate cash. Even forms of liquid capital may require to much time for conversion in an emergency. This can be overcome, obviously, with a large emergency savings pool but then this savings isn't working for you in an index fun, etc. As such, having access to an emergency line of credit is important even if you never plan on using a credit card day to day.

Second, building credit is necessary for long term savings on loans and mortgages. While it is possible to build credit without a credit card it is more difficult.

Third, avoiding rewards is leaving money on the table similar to not contributing to a 401k when match is available.

Ramsey's advice is often about eliminating options for risky behavior which is one way to reduce your possible debt burden, but it is not the only way. The more obvious way, which requires personal self discipline.

Dave Ramsey quotes:

"Even by paying the bills on time, you are not beating the system!". It isn't about beating the system, it is about using the system as intended and getting the rewards the system put in place to encourage your use of their credit card over others. Credit card companies make their profit off vendors and consumers. Credit card companies bank on a pool of consumers having some who do not pay their bills on time and some who do, similar to insurance, and offset their risk with rewards with one group over another. The problem with Ramsey's statement is that we are making individual decisions as individual actors within the context of a "system" built around a large pool of participants. The two are disjointed ideas and make no sense in the context of each other.

"A study of credit card use at McDonald’s found that people spent 47% more when using credit instead of cash." This is one of those statements I would refer people to How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking where a statistic has been taking out of context to support a point but is, likely, unrelated. We live in a relatively cashless society and people are more likely to make larger purchases on a card rather than with cash so relative size of purchases will always favor a credit card.

"Personal finance is 80% behavior. You need to cut out habits that make you spend more. You do not build wealth with credit cards. Use common sense." And this is completely true. Personal finance is about personal behavior and creating good habits. If you habitually pay off your credit card month over month, never spending more credit than you have cash reserves, then you are at no greater risk than if you used cash for those same purchases.

u/Rock0rSomething · 4 pointsr/aviation

How Not To Be Wrong explores this vignette in some detail - highly recommend the book!

u/duuuh · 3 pointsr/careerguidance

It's possible without college, but it's not possible without education (leaving aside the incredibly rare exceptions like being a professional athlete.) That education can be apprenticeships; it can be on the job training (which is very hard to get in the US); it can be self taught; it can be college. Usually college is easiest.

Mathematics actually has very wide applicability although I'll grant you that many or most courses don't go out of their way to make that clear.

However, I'm not suggesting you should follow a math program. But you will need some form of education that's in demand to not live paycheck to paycheck. (This was much less true 40 years ago but it's true today, and getting more true with each passing year.)

u/FNGMedia · 3 pointsr/politics

That's certainly one of the issues. There is a great book that covers this and other topics. How Not To Be Wrong by Jordan Ellenberg.

u/haroldburgess · 3 pointsr/math

I recently started reading How Not To Be Wrong (The Power of Mathematical Thinking), by Jordan Ellenberg, and while the material is probably way too simple for most on this thread, it's very engaging and informative, relating real world examples to simple math concepts. It's especially good at pointing out how math is used and abused by people to come to inaccurate or sometimes completely false conclusions.

But I think math geniuses aside, everyone can get something out of this book. It's good.

u/Redrot · 3 pointsr/math

Read How Not to be Wrong a bit ago and am currently reading Thinking Fast and Slow. Both lighter reads, Thinking Fast and Slow is a bit thicker, but both cover ways of using basic logic, quantitative reasoning, and probability.

Thinking Fast and Slow does an incredible job of explaining how the mind can work both for and against you without getting too technical, definitely recommend that. How Not to be Wrong is a bit lighter.

edit: lol both of the recommendations have already showed up in the thread

u/[deleted] · 3 pointsr/math

https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535

How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking gives some examples from WW2 and was really super interesting.

u/bayhack · 2 pointsr/learnmachinelearning

Hey I'm very very new to machine learning.
BUT I am very familiar with your situation. School didn't teach me anything and I don't think I can take the topics I should know into the workforce.

I've been reading this book
https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535

And it has put a lot into perspective.

A lot of my education (this is at least for me going to school in the US) has been more about rote memorization and just glossing over concepts. Not really about the logic behind it, I doubt my grade school teachers even understood the concepts better than I did. But now I'm older I'm sucking it up and actually teaching myself the basics all the way up. Going to extremes as learning the Common Core math basics (and I mean the basics!) even though I have no kids.
While it seems like a lot to relearn, your actually going to be working on understanding the concept more and less about solving the problems and getting the right answer, so it's quicker than you can believe.

I say get some books that put stats into perspective, even in a fun way like the book I'm reading. Anything putting you to sleep is cause you are forcing yourself, so read something interesting in the field even if it's for people without any stats knowledge.
Go back and see your old coursework from new eyes. Do side projects and analyze things on your own and ask for help in forums.

Well, that's what I'm doing at least with all math and CS topics.

Yeah, school sucks. I think I understand why (I think) Mark Twain said "I don't let schooling get in the way of my education"

u/kentnl · 1 pointr/INTP

Read ( or listen to ) the book "How not to be wrong" by Jordan Ellenberg

It covers not just the stupid "do this" of math, but talks more high level abstract concepts, and discusses real world problems with mathematical implications, and talks about how Math is not some arcane magic, but is in fact a product of human intelligence, and that Math is mostly a formalised version of human natural understanding and rationalisation.

It also covers statistical reasoning, something INTPs typically don't do to well at, because we get distracted by focusing on the details, not realising we don't need the details to draw a good enough conclusion, failing to realise spending too much time on details may actually hinder, not help, the decision making process. ( Because ultimately, you any detail you think is sufficient can be subdivided into details that you don't understand at some level, and you can get side tracked working out how quantum particles work in the process of deciding whether or not you want chicken for dinner, so you need to stop at some depth )

IME, INTJs beat us at math because their statistical reasoning is more naturally adapted, and so they're more likely to follow a Mathematical Discipline than we are.

u/penndotsucks · 1 pointr/CFBOffTopic

If you're actually interested in why we don't have a tiered voting system, I'd encourage you to read more about the mathematics of voting; in particular, the chapter titled "There Is No Such Thing As Public Opinion" from the book How Not To Be Wrong.

Won't necessarily answer all of your questions but basically the answer is that a dictatorship is the only pure "election" system.

u/Capermis · 1 pointr/explainlikeimfive

That doesn't sound right.

There is a simple mathematical explanation of insurance and risk in this book:https://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535

I'll try to give my two cents from memory.

The point of any insurance is to spread the risk across more than one person. I don't have the liquidity to pay the huge cost associated with an accident/serious health issue. So, in the unlikely event this happens, I'm screwed and would bankrupt. In contrast, rich people don't need insurance as they can pay up when the event does happen. They should keep on to their money as long as possible.

However, barring the margins taken by the insurer, on average the uninsured rich person and the insured poor person are expected to pay equal amounts (assuming for simplicity that both have the same probability of an event occurring).

So, I think that if you work out the math even an insurance company covering only two people would make sense as it reduces the probility of an insurmountable cost occurring (by a little bit).

So, rationally, I think the only stable point is for everybody to be insured that is either not rich enough to be able to take a hit (essentially these people can act as their own insurer) or too poor to pay the monthly fees (these are the people crossing their fingers no cataclysmic event pushes them over the edges).

u/fulgoray · 1 pointr/math

Try out Jordan Ellenberg's How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking.

http://www.amazon.com/How-Not-Be-Wrong-Mathematical/dp/0143127535

u/Clash_Tofar · 1 pointr/PoliticalOpinions

Definitely not more qualified than you but do enjoy tackling tough questions like you proposed and thinking through some mental framework that would make the political environment we are in a little less overwhelming.

Because the system you proposed would likely be based on (for the most part) universal values, it's probably in your best interest to do some light reading that will help you feel more grounded in your choices. If someone asked you why you believe wealth inequality was a bad thing, you might be able to form a more streamlined and coherent thought (outside of something simple like "it's just the right thing to do" or "because that's how I was raised" etc) a couple of good books I've enjoyed and don't require advanced degrees in psychology / philosophy are:

The Island of Knowledge

How not to be Wrong

While enticing to set up a simple acronym or mantra around your political decision making, I've always felt it's better to dig in a bit and then in turn use what you've learned to organize your values etc.

Thoughts?

u/JLHawkins · 1 pointr/explainlikeimfive

Want to break your head? 0.999... = 1.

  1. 1/3 is 0.333 repeating: 1/3 = 0.333...
  2. Multiply both sides by 3 to get rid of the fraction: 1/3 * 3 = 0.333... * 3
  3. 3/3 = 0.999...
  4. 1 = 0.999...

    Want to get weirder? Try multiplying 0.999... by 10, which is just moving the decimal one spot to the right.

  5. 10 * 0.999... = 9.999...
  6. Now get rid of that annoying decimal by subtracting 0.999... from both sides: 10 * (0.999...) - 1 * (0.999...) = 9.999... - 0.999...
  7. The left hand side of the equation is just 9 x (0.999...) because 10 times something minus that something is 9 times the aforementioned thing. And on the right hand side, we've canceled out the decimal.
  8. 9 * (0.999...) = 9
  9. If 9 times something is 9, that thing must be 1.

    Lots more fun stuff in the chapter, Straight Logically Curved Globally from the book How Not to Be Wrong: The Power of Mathematical Thinking, by Jordan Ellenberg.
u/jebuz23 · 1 pointr/actuary

Superforecasting has been on my "get to soon" list since I got it last Christmas. It just got a nice nod in the latest CAS magazine.

Along the probability/math lines, other books I've enjoyed are: