Probability puzzles are notoriously tricky, and the best ones continue to intrigue the public and confound philosophers. We'll examine some of these questions and try to determine whether they uncover real problems with the foundations of probability theory, or just challenges to our flawed human intuition.
About the Speaker
Peter Winkler is William Morrill Professor of Mathematics and Computer Science at Dartmouth College. He is the author of more than 150 research papers and holds a dozen patents in marine navigation, cryptolography, holography, gaming, optical networking, and distributed computing. His research is primarily in combinatorics, probability, and the theory of computing, with forays into statistical physics. He is a winner of the Mathematical Association of America's Lester R. Ford and David P. Robbins prizes.
Dr. Winkler has also written two collections of mathematical puzzles, a book on cryptology in the game of bridge, and a portfolio of compositions for ragtime piano. He's working on a new puzzle book.
