A group of scientists is sent to a distant planet to study an artifact that may hold the key to victory against the alien Fallers.

This work presents the basic concepts of probability to philosophy students who are new to this area of the subject.

While expanding out into interstellar space using star gates left by an ancient, long-vanished race, humanity encounters the Fallers, an alien race bent on genocide. In this fragile situation, a new planet is discovered. A team of human scientists is sent to investigate the pre-industrial race living there. But what the scientists don't know is that their mission of first contact is actually a covert military operation.

The term probability can be used in two main senses. In the frequency interpretation it is a limiting ratio in a sequence of repeatable events. In the Bayesian view, probability is a mental construct representing uncertainty. This 2002 book is about these two types of probability and investigates how, despite being adopted by scientists and statisticians in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Bayesianism was discredited as a theory of scientific inference during the 1920s and 1930s. Through the examination of a dispute between two British scientists, the author argues that a choice between the two interpretations is not forced by pure logic or the mathematics of the situation, but depends on the experiences and aims of the individuals involved. The book should be of interest to students and scientists interested in statistics and probability theories and to general readers with an interest in the history, sociology and philosophy of science.

From classical foundations to modern theory, this comprehensive guide to probability interweaves mathematical proofs, historical context and detailed illustrative applications.

"This is a valuable reference guide for readers interested in gaining a basic understanding of probability theory or its applications in problem solving in the other disciplines." —CHOICE Providing cutting-edge perspectives and real-world insights into the greater utility of probability and its applications, the Handbook of Probability offers an equal balance of theory and direct applications in a non-technical, yet comprehensive, format. Editor Tamás Rudas and the internationally-known contributors present the material in a manner so that researchers of various backgrounds can use the reference either as a primer for understanding basic probability theory or as a more advanced research tool for specific projects requiring a deeper understanding. The wide-ranging applications of probability presented make it useful for scholars who need to make interdisciplinary connections in their work. Key Features Contains contributions from the international who′s-who of probability across several disciplines Offers an equal balance of theory and applications Explains the most important concepts of probability theory in a non-technical yet comprehensive way Provides in-depth examples of recent applications in the social and behavioral sciences as well as education, business, and law Intended Audience This Handbook makes an ideal library purchase. In addition, this volume should also be of interest to individual scholars in the social and behavioral sciences.