jkb reviewed The Drunkard's Walk by Leonard Mlodinow
Review of "The Drunkard's Walk" on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
I started this book three weeks ago but didn't ever mark it here. It was a very good book. I was looking to study randomness and found this book. Though I was looking for the mathematical underpinnings of randomness (algorithms, computer simulations, etc) I discovered how much I need to really study the math behind randomness, basically Probability and Statistics. These two subjects have seemed 1) scary and complex, and 2) boring and factual. But after reading this book I have a better idea that studying these two mathematical subjects are exactly what I need to do to completely understand randomness.
One interesting fact to point out is even though the book talks about randomness the reality is that this book does a great job of showing how we really think and how we, as humans, use pattern recognition to make sense of completely random events. At times I found …
I started this book three weeks ago but didn't ever mark it here. It was a very good book. I was looking to study randomness and found this book. Though I was looking for the mathematical underpinnings of randomness (algorithms, computer simulations, etc) I discovered how much I need to really study the math behind randomness, basically Probability and Statistics. These two subjects have seemed 1) scary and complex, and 2) boring and factual. But after reading this book I have a better idea that studying these two mathematical subjects are exactly what I need to do to completely understand randomness.
One interesting fact to point out is even though the book talks about randomness the reality is that this book does a great job of showing how we really think and how we, as humans, use pattern recognition to make sense of completely random events. At times I found myself questioning the author audacity of a claim but by the end I see his point. We can try to make sense of random events but it could be a more interesting life if we didn't. Some of the buddha's philosophy is really about acceptance of the random events and observing the reactions within ourselves to better understand our own suffering. In some respects I'm using pattern recognition in that last sentence to make sense of random events and actions but at the same time I think that was what the buddha was doing as well.
Really, a good book and leads to more profound thoughts.
