For all the deference to “laws” of nature that supposedly govern everything that happens, the truth is that randomness rules the world. Everywhere you look, randomness is at work, in all the processes ...

What happened when a gambler asked for help from a mathematician? The formal study of Probability. Infinite Series is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV ...

Because of its importance, much scientific effort is devoted to understanding when a given process generates ‘good’ randomness. A process is represented by a device, or black box, producing bits (Fig.

In last month’s Insights column, we explored randomness in mundane objects such as a combination bicycle lock and a hexagonal jigsaw puzzle, before debating the philosophical underpinnings of ...

There’s one genre that this excellent video from Game Maker’s Toolkit does not address, and that’s sports, but in MLB The Show and NBA 2K particularly, I can speak to the total getting-screwed mindset ...

Mark Blumenthal and Natalie Jackson of Huffpost Pollster write: If you read polls in the news, you’re probably familiar with the term “margin of error.” What ...

Are you convinced that the shuffle mode on your iPod is messing with your mind? Or that certain numbers are bound to come up in the next lottery? If yes, you may be holding on to some serious ...

In physics, Albert Einstein is famous for two things: developing the theory of relativity, and hating quantum mechanics. Relativity is a colossal achievement, with the special theory of 1905 putting ...