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Probability Theory

What is probability?

The word probability has several meanings in everyday terminology . Probability can be a measure of how likely a particular event occurs: throwing a six when rolling dice, winning the jackpot, having a car accident, or a meteorite hitting the earth. Probability can also be interpreted as a personal measure of uncertainty - the chances that you are going to see something particular or go to Rome for a holiday. We also use probability to weigh the risk of decisions and investments.

What is the probability theory?

The probability theory is a branch of mathematics concerned with the analysis of random phenomena. Although we don't know the outcome of a particular experiment, we use the probability theory to estimate the probability of an event using the the history of previous outcomes.

How is the probability theory connected to statistics?

The probability theory uses the knowledge about all possible outcomes of an experiment, also called the population, to infer the probability of particular outcomes. Statistics tries to make the converse conclusion, using a finite number of sample points to draw a conclusion about the whole population. The probability theory helps to check whether theses conclusion are rational and gives guidelines on how to design an experiment for a particular question.
 


Last Update: 2006-Jän-17