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  • The Theory That Would Not Die

  • How Bayes' Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy
  • Written by: Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
  • Narrated by: Laural Merlington
  • Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (6 ratings)

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The Theory That Would Not Die

Written by: Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
Narrated by: Laural Merlington
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Publisher's Summary

Bayes' rule appears to be a straightforward, one-line theorem: by updating our initial beliefs with objective new information, we get a new and improved belief. To its adherents, it is an elegant statement about learning from experience. To its opponents, it is subjectivity run amok.

In the first-ever account of Bayes' rule for general readers and listeners, Sharon Bertsch McGrayne explores this controversial theorem and the human obsessions surrounding it. She traces its discovery by an amateur mathematician in the 1740s through its development into roughly its modern form by French scientist Pierre Simon Laplace. She reveals why respected statisticians rendered it professionally taboo for 150 years - at the same time that practitioners relied on it to solve crises involving great uncertainty and scanty information, even breaking Germany's Enigma code during World War II, and explains how the advent of off-the-shelf computer technology in the 1980s proved to be a game-changer. Today, Bayes' rule is used everywhere from DNA decoding to Homeland Security.

Drawing on primary source material and interviews with statisticians and other scientists, The Theory That Would Not Die is the riveting account of how a seemingly simple theorem ignited one of the greatest controversies of all time.

©2011 Sharon Bertsch McGrayne (P)2012 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic Reviews

"If you are not thinking like a Bayesian, perhaps you should be." ( New York Times Book Review)

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History of bayes theorem

nice historical notes on bayesian aproach. Bayes vs frequency based statistics. It's most profound applications in milaitary and government studies.

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Hidden Gem

I didn't know about this hidden gem.. must read for anyone who is serious about solving problems of the real world across disciplines. in the reincarnated age of AI, it will provide missing clarity on foundations

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A Hidden Gem

One heck of an engaging listen. Almost wants us to turn Bayesian ourselves. If youve ever looked for the intersection of maths and storytelling this is it !!

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