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The Drunkard's Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives Paperback – May 5, 2009

by Leonard Mlodinow (Author)

439 customer reviews

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With the born storyteller's command of narrative and imaginative approach, Leonard Mlodinow vividly demonstrates how our lives are profoundly informed by chance and randomness and how everything from wine ratings and corporate success to school grades and political polls 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 us the tools we need to make more informed decisions. From the classroom to the courtroom and from financial markets to supermarkets, Mlodinow's intriguing and illuminating look at how randomness, chance, and probability affect our daily lives will intrigue, awe, and inspire.

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Editorial Reviews

Review

“Mlodinow writes in a breezy style, interspersing probabilistic mind-benders with portraits of theorists.... The result is a readable crash course in randomness.”—The New York Times Book Review“A wonderfully readable guide to how the mathematical laws of randomness affect our lives.”—Stephen Hawking, author of A Brief History of Time"[Mlodinow] thinks in equations but explains in anecdote, simile, and occasional bursts of neon. . . . The results are mind-bending."—Fortune"Even if you begin The Drunkard's Walk as a skeptic, by the time you reach the final pages, you will gain an understanding-if not acceptance-of the intuitively improbable ways that probability biases the outcomes of life's uncertainties."—Barron's“Delightfully entertaining.”—Scientific American “A magnificent exploration of the role that chance plays in our lives. The probability is high that you will be entertained and enlightened by this intelligent charmer.” —Daniel Gilbert, author of Stumbling on Happiness“Mlodinow is the perfect guy to reveal the ways unrelated elements can relate and connect.”—The Miami Herald“A primer on the science of probability.”—The Washington Post Book World“Challenges our intuitions about probability and explores how, by understanding randomness, we can better grasp our world.” —Seed Magazine“Mlodinow has an intimate perspective on randomness.”—The Austin Chronicle

About the Author

Leonard Mlodinow received his doctorate in physics from the University of California, Berkeley, was an Alexander von Humboldt fellow at the Max Planck Institute, and now teaches about randomness to future scientists at Caltech. Along the way he also wrote for the television series MacGyver and Star Trek: The Next Generation. His previous books include Euclid's Window: The Story of Geometry from Parallel Lines to Hyperspace, Feynman's Rainbow: A Search for Beauty in Physics and in Life, and, with Stephen Hawking, A Briefer History of Time. He lives in South Pasadena, California.

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Product details

Paperback: 252 pages
Publisher: Vintage; Reprint edition (May 5, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 9780307275172
ISBN-13: 978-0307275172
ASIN: 0307275175
Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.8 x 8 inches
Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 439 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #20,278 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #4 in Books > Science & Math > Physics > Chaos Theory
- #87 in Books > Science & Math > Mathematics > Applied > Probability & Statistics
- #456 in Books > Science & Math > Behavioral Sciences

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Michael E. Martin

Well Organized and Humorous Explanation of Randomness

April 10, 2015

Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase

Math, history, and psychology all wrapped up in an often funny, and consistently well written 220 pages. It definitely falls into the page-turner category, and while there is some math, even the math phobic likely will enjoy it. Ironically, while the book focuses on the impact of randomness in world events and our personal lives, it is very well organized. Yet there is no reason why you shouldn't read the chapters in random order. Sure, there is some carryover from one chapter to the next, but if you read the last chapter first, you might find yourself even more enlightened.

I found chapter 9 to be particularly enlightening. Randomness is clearly a part of our lives and often is the source of major world events and trends. Most of us know this, but as the author points out, we try to organize random events so that they make sense and point to a direction. He uses examples of the stock market and the success/failure of new movies and books. There are countless people making a nice living trying to convince us that they see a pattern when in fact there is none. There are many more "hmmph, I didn't know that" points in the book, but If this is your only learning, it is a worthwhile use of your time and money.

9 people found this helpful

Comment

The Right Balance of History, Philosophy, Mathematics and Popular Culture

September 24, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Although it’s seemingly impossible to discuss this book without drawing parallels to Fooled By Randomness, these books provide a great compliment to each other. This book in particular differs in its scope, traversing many areas outside of finance. It also speaks more directly to the reader, explaining the mathematics of probability by breaking down the mathematics (in contrast to Taleb who speaks more through analogies and metaphors).

The writer explains concepts clearly, and explores the role (and misunderstandings of) probably in Hollywood, the board room, the courts, and why the Greek's, despite their immense mathematical contributions had no understanding – and a great skepticism of – probability.

This book contains just the right balance of history, philosophy, mathematics, popular culture (Monty Hall problem, etc), and it’s accessible to all. If you’re on the fence about it, look at the Table of Contents for some inspiration.

2 people found this helpful

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Roberto Rigolin F Lopes

The effects of a drunk universe in our lives

February 17, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

You may guess that this book is about drunk people walking. Wrong. Drunk people are more likely to let the universe control their bodies. As you may know, the result is random (sort of). Thus the other way around is also true: the whole universe is drunk all the time! Damn, this even explains quantum mechanics? Sure. But this book is about the effects of a drunk universe in our ordinary lives. The bad news is: you don't need a drink to see randomness everywhere.

2 people found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Very good book about the history of probabilities ans statistics and the role of randomness in our lifes.

June 30, 2018

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

The book is an historical account of the development of two branchs of mathematics: probabilities and statistics. It is very comprehensive, covering a wide range of the subject in details. However, it is not a technical book. The author try to address explain the mathematics using simple examples in a narrative form. Being an engineer, I would like to say that probabilities and statistics are not easy subjects. As the author points throughout the book, part of the difficult is due to the fact that both sciences usually produce results that are very counterintuitive. The type of conclusions that clash directly to our expectations. The author did its best to try to address such complexity. But, it still is a difficult book. So, I recommend reading it with time and patience. But, at the end, it is a worth reading, in particular for anyone interested in history of science.

Comment

Kindle Customer

May 4, 2017

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

Decades after studying mathematics and a shattered of probability and statistics, I found the explanations in the book more comprehensible than anything I had read before. A great opportunity to examine how you arrived where you are and the random events that guided you.

4 people found this helpful

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Randomness rules

September 17, 2016

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

A great read, perhaps because the message coincides so well with my own outlook on life: life is random and ruled by uncertainties that are beyond our control, although I continue to make plans because the only way to live is to pretend that you know what will happen tomorrow, next week or a year from now, despite the fact that you have no idea what will happen when you turn the next street corner.

If this is how you feel, this book will explain why you are right, and if it is not how you feel, it might well change your mind. And even if it doesn't, it is an engrossing read, because it makes it clear how randomness, uncertainty and chance play a greater role in our lives than is generally recognized.

4 people found this helpful

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Excellent introduction on randomness and how chance plays a major role in our life

March 14, 2015

Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase

I have read Mlodinow's book "Subliminal" and this is his second book I just completed. He has an unique way of using stories to describe the principles of randomness - starting from simple probability and going further to conditional probability. He's right that while the maths involved may not be too complex, even academics often get it wrong when posed with a question linked to probability and randomness. We often attributed certain qualities as the definitive reason for success or failure (e.g. CEO credentials, star athletes, stock picking experts) while chance plays a major role in the outcome.

The key takeaway to me is his paragraph in the last chapter - that by not giving up, we're able to increase the probability of success since it's under our control!

What I’ve learned, above all, is to keep marching forward because the best news is that since chance does play a role, one important factor in success is under our control: the number of at bats, the number of chances taken, the number of opportunities seized. For even a coin weighted toward failure will sometimes land on success. Or as the IBM pioneer Thomas Watson said, “If you want to succeed, double your failure rate.”

2 people found this helpful

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