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Chance: The science and secrets of luck, randomness and probability
For you to be here today reading this requires a mind-boggling series of lucky breaks, starting with the Big Bang and ending in your own conception. So it's not surprising that we persist in thinking that we're in with a chance, whether we're playing the lottery or working out the likelihood of extra-terrestrial life. In Chance , a (not entirely) random selection of the New Scientist 's sharpest minds provide fascinating insights into luck, randomness, risk and probability. From the secrets of coincidence to placing the perfect bet, the science of random number generation to the surprisingly haphazard decisions of criminal juries, it explores these and many other tantalising questions. Following on from the bestselling Nothing and Question Everything , this book will open your eyes to the weird and wonderful world of chance - and help you see when some things, in fact, aren't random at all.
272 pages, Paperback
First published November 5, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 5, 2015
New Scientist has had a great success with its books filled with extracts from the 'Last Word' column where readers pose and answer questions. Titles such as Why Don't Penguin's Feet Freeze have proved very popular for a number of years. However, while no doubt they are building up more Q&As for the next such title, the New Scientist staff have come up with a different format that brings together a collection of articles based on an interesting topic. We've already seen this with Nothing - now there's a second outing with Chance.
Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of books made up of a smorgasbord of articles by different authors. The outcome is often bitty and lacks any narrative flow - it just doesn't read well as a whole. The New Scientist books suffer a little for this problem, but the good news is that the vast majority of the articles in Chance on randomness, probability and the like are very readable in their own right, and there isn't too much overlap between them.
Where the book really shines is when dealing with the way that randomness and probability influence our everyday lives, from legal miscarriages, where probability has been misused to falsely convict, to the good old classic applications of probability like the lottery (it's a shame the number of balls has changed since the book was written) and the different games in a casino. I'm also always genuinely happy when there's a discussion of Bayes' theorem, which comes up a number of times. There are also some tantalising mentions of the kind of unlikely coincidences we've all encountered, like meeting a colleague in a strange location, though I would have liked a specific article giving these kind of events more of a heavy duty going over.
Less successful, for me, were what felt more like padding articles, brought in because there weren't quite enough topics to cover on pure probability, so the authors had to resort to rather tenuous connections of probability with biology and the statistical chances of life existing. I know some people love this kind of thing, so I understand why it's here, but it didn't work for me.
So, I reached the end a pleasantly surprised reader. It's no Dice World, but it is an interesting and entertaining collection of articles covering many areas of randomness and probability.
Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of books made up of a smorgasbord of articles by different authors. The outcome is often bitty and lacks any narrative flow - it just doesn't read well as a whole. The New Scientist books suffer a little for this problem, but the good news is that the vast majority of the articles in Chance on randomness, probability and the like are very readable in their own right, and there isn't too much overlap between them.
Where the book really shines is when dealing with the way that randomness and probability influence our everyday lives, from legal miscarriages, where probability has been misused to falsely convict, to the good old classic applications of probability like the lottery (it's a shame the number of balls has changed since the book was written) and the different games in a casino. I'm also always genuinely happy when there's a discussion of Bayes' theorem, which comes up a number of times. There are also some tantalising mentions of the kind of unlikely coincidences we've all encountered, like meeting a colleague in a strange location, though I would have liked a specific article giving these kind of events more of a heavy duty going over.
Less successful, for me, were what felt more like padding articles, brought in because there weren't quite enough topics to cover on pure probability, so the authors had to resort to rather tenuous connections of probability with biology and the statistical chances of life existing. I know some people love this kind of thing, so I understand why it's here, but it didn't work for me.
So, I reached the end a pleasantly surprised reader. It's no Dice World, but it is an interesting and entertaining collection of articles covering many areas of randomness and probability.
June 15, 2020
These are a set of selected pieces written for New Scientist by various contributors over the years. The title tells you what they are about, but suggests that they are purely mathematical, which is not the case. Subjects such as evolutionary biology, quantum entanglement and gambling are also featured.
May 26, 2017
A collection of articles on the subject of chance. Some that sparkle, some that don't and some that are better explained in other works, like Taleb's Black Swan.
July 3, 2016
samansafn af greinum úr new scientist. Þær eru mis læsilegar, mis fróðlegar og mis skemmtilegar. á köflum var erfitt að lesa bókina.
January 8, 2016
Recently I bought a pile of timber for various home projects. While filing the invoices from the same supplier, I came across two which had precisely the same total - 6 digits, including the cents. The items were completely different in type and quantity. Now, what are the chances of that happening? Surely it means Something Important? But that's not the real coincidence: Later that day I read about this exact situation in this book. Now, how's that for a real coincidence?
The use and misuse of statistics have always interested me, and this book fascinated me and held my attention throughout. Although made up of separate articles by different authors, each thread is followed so well that you hardly know the difference, and careful editing has taken out most of the duplication of ideas which would normally occur.
Particularly interesting to me were the areas where our common sense just breaks down, leading us to wrong conclusions. These range from problems of testimony in court, to clinical trials, and even to some problems in modern cryptography.
A thoroughly good read, provided you have some scientific background and are not scared of a few formulas. I was sorry it came to an end so soon.
The use and misuse of statistics have always interested me, and this book fascinated me and held my attention throughout. Although made up of separate articles by different authors, each thread is followed so well that you hardly know the difference, and careful editing has taken out most of the duplication of ideas which would normally occur.
Particularly interesting to me were the areas where our common sense just breaks down, leading us to wrong conclusions. These range from problems of testimony in court, to clinical trials, and even to some problems in modern cryptography.
A thoroughly good read, provided you have some scientific background and are not scared of a few formulas. I was sorry it came to an end so soon.
November 22, 2015
Ever wanted to know how to win at Rock, Paper Scissors, why shops are arranged in London in small hubs, how to get a bigger share of the prize should you be lucky enough to win the lottery. All of these and more are questions answered in Chance, the science and secrets of luck, randomness and probability.
July 19, 2021
Feels like a bit of a random collection... Some essays are pitched at the right level and fit well into the space available. Many others assume too much prior knowledge and/or don't explain or elaborate their arguments well, just stating the science as truth handed down from on high. The book would benefit from many more examples and, perhaps surprisingly, more maths.
September 10, 2019
An interesting read from a great collection of authors with some particularly nice chapters but one frustratingly annoying one. Worth a read for those with an interest in science and probability. I particularly liked the sections about chance in cosmology and evolution, as well as parts about the power of dithering, Bayes' theorem and Benford’s law. I would advise skipping Chapter 4 entirely with it's rambling discussion of 'free will' and was especially annoyed by Mark Buchanan's extended misquote of Einstein with it's incessant and utterly unnecessary 'God' references. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater because all the other chapters are worth a read.
October 6, 2024
This was a hard book to get started, not going to lie. I attempted to read this three times. The first chapter is just way too heavy, but if you stop midway through you lose the thread and have to start again at the beginning.
I love the concept of this book, but with it being a collective of essays it wasn't always coherent, nor easy to take in.
Looking back, I only really enjoyed 2 or 3 key moments, the rest I could do without. It felt like I was reading the book all to get to the final chapter.
Having said that, I do feel a hell of a lot smarter now. Maybe I'll try my luck at the lottery.
I love the concept of this book, but with it being a collective of essays it wasn't always coherent, nor easy to take in.
Looking back, I only really enjoyed 2 or 3 key moments, the rest I could do without. It felt like I was reading the book all to get to the final chapter.
Having said that, I do feel a hell of a lot smarter now. Maybe I'll try my luck at the lottery.
July 25, 2024
It's good and interesting and informative and my two favourite things are that you can get training to be more lucky and there are apps that will make you do random things and go random places.
Apart from those things I'd come across pretty much everything else already. And the world has also moved on because this is, what, almost a decade old?
Read it if you like time capsules. Otherwise, use ChatGPT.
Apart from those things I'd come across pretty much everything else already. And the world has also moved on because this is, what, almost a decade old?
Read it if you like time capsules. Otherwise, use ChatGPT.
November 15, 2019
I enjoyed this book, but I don't think the format of so many short articles together suited the way I like to read. For someone who likes to chip away a little at a time without losing the thread of the book it'd probably be quite good.
March 11, 2018
There were a couple of good articles but the majority were pretty dull. I love books which explain scientific concepts but once they start tying in formulae I switched off.
August 24, 2018
Loved and connected with the final part, but found it a struggle to get there.
Lots of physics and maths early on so if you love these, this book may well be for you.
Lots of physics and maths early on so if you love these, this book may well be for you.
January 11, 2019
Really enjoyed this.
October 20, 2022
It's fine, but felt quite disjointed. Perhaps a heavier editorial touch would have helped unify this series of essays.
September 10, 2025
Meh. A series of popular science essays putatively held together (but not really) by the theme of 'chance.' Lots of interesting facts, but I felt let down by the book as a whole.
December 17, 2016
I found this book hard going and only found small parts of it of any interest. And I'm a mathematician.....
If you like probability and statistics then this book is for you. If not, then I would avoid it.
The only bits I found interesting were the parts about the theory behind gambling, the lottery (which numbers should you play etc) and how to win at rock, paper scissors, and the part at the end about Benford's law (look it up - it's fascinating). The rest was a chore to plough through.
If you like probability and statistics then this book is for you. If not, then I would avoid it.
The only bits I found interesting were the parts about the theory behind gambling, the lottery (which numbers should you play etc) and how to win at rock, paper scissors, and the part at the end about Benford's law (look it up - it's fascinating). The rest was a chore to plough through.
January 14, 2017
I don't have a huge knowledge of science or mathematics but I do find this sort of book interesting. This book, as its title says, is about luck, randomness and probability. The book is made up of short essays on various aspects of the subject and includes such things as placing the perfect bet - but don't expect a big return; winning at the casino; evolution; criminal juries and picking winning lottery numbers.
I found most of the maths and science reasonably easy to understand and the contributors write well and in ways which can be understand by the lay person. I enjoyed reading it and picked up lots of information that I was previously unaware of. If you're looking something not too technical on the subject then this could be the ideal book for you,
I found most of the maths and science reasonably easy to understand and the contributors write well and in ways which can be understand by the lay person. I enjoyed reading it and picked up lots of information that I was previously unaware of. If you're looking something not too technical on the subject then this could be the ideal book for you,
May 13, 2016
An interesting and thought provoking read on the true role both Chance and Randomness play in our lives. The only small downfall was the sudden jump from a casual discussion of chance/randomness in everyday situations to rather technical mathematical speak which threw me a few times. Perhaps worthy of a second read in a few years time to get my head around the more technical discussions. Overall, a good book and I recommend it.
September 20, 2016
The book equivalent to a BBC Horizon episode
This collection of New Scientist articles on randomness and chance in nature, mathematics and computer science is both entertaining and informative. It is aimed at readers with minimal science knowledge and as such quite accessible even to younger readers. The narrative often feels like a Horizon documentary which is not a bad thing but it seems to lack some depth at times.
This collection of New Scientist articles on randomness and chance in nature, mathematics and computer science is both entertaining and informative. It is aimed at readers with minimal science knowledge and as such quite accessible even to younger readers. The narrative often feels like a Horizon documentary which is not a bad thing but it seems to lack some depth at times.
February 9, 2016
Intense focusing read, however very interesting to see how chance can be applied and how connects every single actions, at all levels, whether human, planetary or atomic can determine the evolution or course of the future. At some point the main subject send to be lost but by the end you will see his everything falls in love place. Really liked it!
April 12, 2023
A collection of some thought provoking essays, looking at ' chance' from many angles: mathematical, spiritual, philosophical, astrological...you get the picture, right? Some of the essays were quite technical and difficult for me to follow, but many were easy to read and enjoyable. Take your time to read this, slowly...
January 28, 2019
If we had known what chaos is around appreciate what shape it is going to take place and influence the next step we would be heroes ! Perfect book bools your thinking in case you are a serious reader with a physics background appreciating the business and natural environment around you
December 11, 2017
Interesting subject, well presented.
A nice peek into the world of probability and chance and how these affect our lives. Not an in-depth thesis by any means however it provides a every good overview of an incredibly interesting subject.
A nice peek into the world of probability and chance and how these affect our lives. Not an in-depth thesis by any means however it provides a every good overview of an incredibly interesting subject.
January 30, 2016
Probably 3.5/5 stars. Some topics are interesting. Some aren't.
May 24, 2016
Bu - huh - boring. Don't know how they managed to make such an interesting topic so snooze worthy but they did
October 9, 2024
Fine book. Interesting but the essays are logically separated, sometimes I couldn't get the point of the author.
January 4, 2016
A little too maths heavy for my poor brain. I've preferred others in the series.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews