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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 (2011)

by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne(Favorite Author)

3.53 of 5 Votes: 5

ISBN

0300169698 (ISBN13: 9780300169690)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Yale University Press

review 1: Complex and brainy, but very interesting; I think it's the best you can do at explaining what Bayes' rule is to non-specialists like me. With an admirable minimum of equations, McGrayne talks about the origin of the Bayes statistical method, the controversies around it, and its wide range of applications. I almost wish I could give it something more like 3 1/2 stars, because I feel like I should have come away from the book with a better ability to explain exactly what Bayes' rule is, rather than having a sort of vague intuitive sense. But I think this is a great intro for non-mathematicians, even if only for the glimpse inside the world of mathematicians and engineers and programmers that I wouldn't usually get.
review 2: When I start a book - no matter how du... morell it is - I feel compelled to finish it. So, with this book, I suffered. I don't want to knock the author here - it is supremely well-researched and gives an outline of a statistical method that has opened the door to progress in so many fields. But there was too much concentration on the general picture with very little exposure of specific examples that might give the reader a more intuitive purchase on Bayes and its applications. The book is useful in that it gives insight into the controversies and contradictions that can lie behind insight and innovation more generally. But it misses spark. less

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