Probability

29 May, 2008 510 Mathematics

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the strange mathematics of probability where heads or tails is a simple question with a far from simple answer. Gambling may be as old as the hills but probability as a mathematical discipline is a relative youngster. Probability is the field of maths relating to random events and, although commonplace now, the idea that you can pluck a piece of maths from the tumbling of dice, the shuffling of cards or the odds in the local lottery is a relatively recent and powerful one. It may start with the toss of a coin but probability reaches into every area of the modern world, from the analysis of society to the decay of an atom.

Play on BBC Sounds website

Guests

  • Marcus du Sautoy 15 episodes
    Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford
  • Colva Roney-Dougal 11 episodes
    Lecturer in Pure Mathematics at the University of St Andrews
  • Ian Stewart 15 episodes
    Professor of Mathematics at the University of Warwick

Related episodes


Programme ID: b00bqf61

Episode page: bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00bqf61

Auto-category: 510 (Mathematics)

Hello (First sentence from this episode) Hello. Heads or tails?