The Drunkard's Walk
How Randomness Rules Our Lives
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Narrated by:
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Sean Pratt
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By:
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Leonard Mlodinow
About this listen
The rise and fall of your favorite movie star or the most reviled CEO - in fact, all our destinies - reflects chance as much as planning and innate abilities. Even Roger Maris, who beat Babe Ruth's single season home-run record, was in all likelihood not great but just lucky.
How could it have happened that a wine was given five out of five stars by one journal and called the worst wine of the decade by another? Wine ratings, school grades, political polls, and many other things in daily life are less reliable than we believe. By showing us the true nature of chance and revealing the psychological illusions that cause us to misjudge the world around us, Mlodinow gives fresh insight into what is really meaningful and how we can make decisions based on a deeper truth. From the classroom to the courtroom, from financial markets to supermarkets, from the doctor's office to the Oval Office, Mlodinow's insights will intrigue, awe, and inspire.
Offering listeners not only a tour of randomness, chance and probability but also a new way of looking at the world, this original, unexpected journey reminds us that much in our lives is about as predictable as the steps of a stumbling man afresh from a night at a bar.
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"If you're strong enough to have some of your favorite assumptions challenged, please listen to The Drunkard's Walk....a history, explanation, and exaltation of probability theory....The results are mind-bending." ( Fortune)
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- How Algorithms Solve all our Problems…and Create More
- By: Luke Dormehl
- Narrated by: Daniel Weyman
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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A fascinating guided tour of the complex, fast-moving, and influential world of algorithms - what they are, why they’re such powerful predictors of human behavior, and where they’re headed next. Algorithms exert an extraordinary level of influence on our everyday lives - from dating websites and financial trading floors, through to online retailing and internet searches - Google's search algorithm is now a more closely guarded commercial secret than the recipe for Coca-Cola.
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Not about algorithms. Not an original book.
- By Landon Rordam on 12-02-14
By: Luke Dormehl
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Seeing What Others Don't
- The Remarkable Ways We Gain Insights
- By: Gary Klein
- Narrated by: Christopher Lane
- Length: 9 hrs
- Unabridged
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Insights—like Darwin's understanding of the way evolution actually works, and Watson and Crick's breakthrough discoveries about the structure of DNA-can change the world. We also need insights into the everyday things that frustrate and confuse us so that we can more effectively solve problems and get things done. Yet we know very little about when, why, or how insights are formed—or what blocks them. In Seeing What Others Don't, renowned cognitive psychologist Gary Klein unravels the mystery.
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Not enough actionable ideas
- By Blair on 02-24-15
By: Gary Klein
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Significant Figures
- The Lives and Work of Great Mathematicians
- By: Ian Stewart
- Narrated by: Roger Clark
- Length: 11 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
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In Significant Figures, acclaimed mathematician Ian Stewart introduces the visionaries of mathematics throughout history. Delving into the lives of twenty-five great mathematicians, Stewart examines the roles they played in creating, inventing, and discovering the mathematics we use today. Through these short biographies, we get acquainted with the history of mathematics.
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Beware
- By Anton Kurtz on 12-08-18
By: Ian Stewart
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Blindspot
- By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, Anthony G. Greenwald
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 7 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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I know my own mind. I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way. These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality. Blindspot is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases.
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Difficult to interpret.
- By Ryan Arnold on 12-21-15
By: Mahzarin R. Banaji, and others
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The Art of Strategy
- A Game Theorist's Guide to Success in Business and Life
- By: Barry J. Nalebuff, Avinash K. Dixit
- Narrated by: Matthew Dudley
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Game theory means rigorous strategic thinking. It’s the art of anticipating your opponent’s next moves, knowing full well that your rival is trying to do the same thing to you. Though parts of game theory involve simple common sense, much is counterintuitive, and it can only be mastered by developing a new way of seeing the world. Using a diverse array of rich case studies - from pop culture, TV, movies, sports, politics, and history - the authors show how nearly every business and personal interaction has a game-theory component to it.
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Completely misleading title
- By Motorjaw on 01-28-15
By: Barry J. Nalebuff, and others
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Strategic Intuition
- The Creative Spark in Human Achievement
- By: Bill Duggan
- Narrated by: Dennis Holland
- Length: 6 hrs and 46 mins
- Unabridged
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How "Aha!" really happens....When do you get your best ideas? You probably answer "At night" or "In the shower" or "Stuck in traffic". You get a flash of insight. Things come together in your mind. You connect the dots. You say to yourself, "Aha! I see what to do." Brain science now reveals how these flashes of insight happen. It's a special form of intuition. We call it strategic intuition, because it gives you an idea for action - a strategy. This new book by William Duggan is the first full treatment of strategic intuition.
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Stratigic Intuition
- By Amazon Customer on 12-17-08
By: Bill Duggan
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Bounce
- Mozart, Federer, Picasso, Beckham, and the Science of Success
- By: Matthew Syed
- Narrated by: James Clamp
- Length: 7 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Few things in life are more satisfying than beating a rival. We love to win and hate to lose, whether it's on the playing field or at the ballot box, in the office or in the classroom. In this bold new look at human behavior, award-winning journalist and Olympian Matthew Syed explores the truth about our competitive nature: why we win, why we don't, and how we really play the game of life.
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Very eye opening
- By Joao on 06-14-10
By: Matthew Syed
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When Einstein Walked with Gödel
- Excursions to the Edge of Thought
- By: Jim Holt
- Narrated by: David Stifel
- Length: 15 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Does time exist? What is infinity? Why do mirrors reverse left and right but not up and down? In this scintillating collection, Holt explores the human mind, the cosmos, and the thinkers who’ve tried to encompass the latter with the former. With his trademark clarity and humor, Holt probes the mysteries of quantum mechanics, the quest for the foundations of mathematics, and the nature of logic and truth. Along the way, he offers intimate biographical sketches of celebrated and neglected thinkers, from the physicist Emmy Noether to the computing pioneer Alan Turing and the discoverer of fractals, Benoit Mandelbrot.
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A good overview of scientific theory
- By MJ Walters on 09-11-18
By: Jim Holt
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A Mind at Play
- How Claude Shannon Invented the Information Age
- By: Rob Goodman, Jimmy Soni
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 11 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Claude Shannon was a tinkerer, a playful wunderkind, a groundbreaking polymath, and a digital pioneer whose insights made the Information Age possible. He constructed fire-breathing trumpets and customized unicycles, outfoxed Vegas casinos, and built juggling robots, but he also wrote the seminal text of the Digital Revolution. That work allowed scientists to measure and manipulate information as objectively as any physical object. His work gave mathematicians and engineers the tools to bring that world to pass.
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I wanted more information about Information Theory
- By Bonny on 05-08-18
By: Rob Goodman, and others
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such good information!
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Author misrepresents what an actual 'fact' is.
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The history of pi, says the author, though a small part of the history of mathematics, is nevertheless a mirror of the history of man. Petr Beckmann holds up this mirror, giving the background of the times when pi made progress - and also when it did not, because science was being stifled by militarism or religious fanaticism.
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one of the best history books
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What listeners say about The Drunkard's Walk
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Kristina
- 05-06-12
A Few Things Here Everyone Should Know
What made the experience of listening to The Drunkard's Walk the most enjoyable?
Statistics explained in terms anyone can understand.
What did you like best about this story?
The book is written in easy to understand language. Many concepts would be difficult to understand in textbook style or 50 minute lecture. The author uses historical references (and explains the historical beliefs) and modern examples to explain the concepts.
The voice is light and makes understanding some very abstract concepts easier.
Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?
This is not a laugh or cry type of book. I laughed a lot because of the examples, I learned a lot from the book. I think I might cry when I think about how many people do not understand the concepts of randomness and statistical reference.
Any additional comments?
Fun and informative.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Lhianna
- 02-13-12
clear, well read, fascinating
Any additional comments?
The content of this book is fascinating. It covers interesting history of the lives of mathematicians (in the context of probability and randomness). The narative builds gradually to give you a clear and thorough understanding of the author's idea of randomness. He describes how our human nature leads us to misconceptions of the effects of randomness in our daily lives and how those misconecptions in turn affect the decisions we make. Leonard Mlodinow explains these things through humor and history in entertaining vignettes accompanied by clear and simple explanations of the relevant concepts in probability and randomness.
I was wary of trying to understand mathematical concepts by listening alone. But I found the explanations clear and Sean Pratt's reading excellent, so that it was entirely easy to visualize in my head and follow along.
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- Jensen
- 05-11-19
Better as a physical book
It was good. But imagine taking a math class with no textbook or blackboard. Get the physical book.
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- Meche
- 02-17-15
Technical and entertaining
I now understand the Monte Hall let's make a deal question about which door to choose!. Informational and enlightening. Lots of history thrown in too.
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- David Wise
- 08-15-16
Good overview into probability and statistics
Author does a nice job describing the development of probability and statistics. This knowledge is then used to evaluate different elements of our lives to show that "randomness"is a major factor in our success, happiness, etc... However, I find much of the argument to be oversimplified. There is a difference between the inability to model events or draw causal relationships versus true randomness. I feel like book is a fun view of statistical analysis as applied to our everyday lives, but not much more than that.
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- Cliente Amazon
- 08-10-20
Outstanding
Excellent book. Even without a formula, easy going and captive. Statistics doesn't need to be tough
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- Thomas
- 07-24-21
Needed insights into probability and chance
I purchased this book for its insights into my profession as an asset Mgr. It is even more useful as a way of evaluating life and life outcomes. Both intellectually thoughtful and hopeful. I’ve shared many of the insights with my children.
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Overall
- ghost666
- 09-13-22
Not what you'd expect
The title is a bit misleading. At least 90% of the book are just an introduction to basic statistics. It's well written and nicely explained, but if you've ever taken a statistics class youll know almost all of the books content.
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- Martin Fierro
- 12-05-15
Understanding the Crucial Role of Chance
Great scientists over the centuries have, brick by brick, built a wall of principles. Many of these principles are not what the human mind and heart want to think. But the principles are true whether we accept them or not.
This book is an invitation to give up some obvious and appealing beliefs. Not easy! But by letting go, we are freed. Freed from a lifetime of hitting one's head against the wall.
Thereafter, we can use the wall--building what we choose. Not easy but absolutely worth it.
I loved that the science was made very accessible but telling stories. The stories of the great minds who found the bricks of discovery. The stories of how they built the wall. Stories of how the principles can be used not only to understand life, but also to make life's journey better.
It really feels good to stop hitting one's head against the wall.
One of the builders was Albert Einstein. Did you know he worked on this wall?
If you have read and enjoyed behavioral economics, you'll enjoy this book. If you like Dan Arielle, or Daniel Kahnaman, you will recognize parts of this wall they built.
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- Amanda
- 07-11-14
This book is an intro to statistics.
Any additional comments?
The Drunkard's Walk follows the basic outline for any statistics course from the basic theory of sample spaces to the application of probability distributions. Despite that description, it isn't dry or difficult to follow if you've got no mathematical background. The author uses practical, easy to follow examples rather than formulas and theoretical discussion to illustrate some basic concepts and he never throws around unnecessary jargon. He also does a very good job of tying each new concept together with previous chapters and even gives a bit of history here and there. All in all, I found the book interesting enough to be engaging and informative enough that I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in learning or reviewing some basic concepts used in statistics.
Just a side note, I realized after finishing this book, that I would have really benefited from listening to it either before or while taking my first statistics for class. Most math textbooks are focused on a few general example problems followed by a bunch of practice problems and sometimes the examples are too brief or too simple to really illustrate the underlying concepts. This book would have been a great supplement to that.
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