Dice Have No Memory


Book Description

Right now, Congress, the Fed, and the Treasury are all gambling with your future and your money. And it's contagious. Economies around the globe are suffering from the biggest multitrillion-dollar bets ever wagered on big governments and miraculous financial interventions in pretend "free markets." One man saw it all coming and told his readers well in advance of today's crisis. Bill Bonner reports on the true health and well-being of the world's largest economy to over half a million readers each day in The Daily Reckoning. His newsletter is to the mainstream financial press what the Gnostic Gospels are to the King James Bible. Back in 2000, Bill Bonner sounded like a prophet crying in the wilderness. While everyone scrambled to purchase shares of the latest and hottest dot-com, Bill announced his Trade of the Decade: Sell dollars, buy gold. Back in 2000, you could get an ounce for around $264. Today, you could pay as much as $1,400 for that same ounce. Finally, some of Bonner's best pronouncements, predictions, and profitable analysis are collected in one place. Dice Have No Memory gather's Bonner's richest insights from August 1999 through November 2010 to form a chronological narrative of economics in America. Here's a fraction of what you'll find inside: *Gold says "I Told You So" *Three out of Four Economists Are Wrong *Imperial Overstretch Marks *Why Debt Does Matter *Economic Zombies Shuffle Towards Bankruptcy Bonner's Dice Have No Memory offers elegies for economists, tips for investors, tirades against wasteful warfare past and present, and practical guides to modern finance with graceful prose, well-earned intelligence, and riotous irreverence. Bill Bonner's common sense genius rips the window dressing off modern finance - a world normally populated by misguided do-gooders, corrupt politicians, and big bankers empowered by dubious "mathematical" truths. The investing game is rigged, just like Monte Carlo. Instead of giving you magic formulas, this archcontrarian teaches you how to think clearly. And Dice Have No Memory gives today's investor the next moves he should make...before it's too late.




Casino Games


Book Description

The classic, revised for the first time in almost a decade, provides quick, clear and concise winning information on eight important casino games blackjack, craps, slots, video poker, baccarat, roulette, keno and sports betting. Gamblers are impatient and like to learn quickly, so this is just what the doctor ordered. Casino Games talks to readers in language they understand-straight to the point and in the language of a fellow player, not a mathematician. Each chapter, in thirty minutes or less, gets readers armed and ready to play and win.




Getting Science


Book Description

The science in this book is not for the children, but for the adults who have to explain it. Starting with a whirlwind tour of the great milestones of modern science, Getting Science goes on to take each of the main curriculum topics and give it a new twist.




Statistics for Technology


Book Description

One of the most popular introductory texts in its field, Statistics for Technology: A Course in Applied Studies presents the range of statistical methods commonly used in science, social science, and engineering.The mathematics are simple and straightforward; statistical concepts are explained carefully; and real-life (rather than contrived) examples are used throughout the chapters.Divided into three parts, the Introduction describes some simple methods of summarizing data. Theory examines the basic concepts and theory of statistics. Applications covers the planning and procedures of experiments, quality control, and life testing.Revised throughout, this Third Edition places a higher priority on the role of computers in analysis, and many new references have been incorporated. A new appendix describes general methods of tackling statistical problems, including guidance on literature searching and report writing.




The Math Explorer


Book Description

This stress-free layperson's introduction to the intriguing world of numbers is designed to acquaint the general reader with the elegance and wonder of mathematics. Unlike the typical boot-camp experience of a high school or college calculus course, Jefferson Hane Weaver's approach is more like a relaxing and educational walking tour. Along the way, tour-guide Weaver points out, explains, and invites readers to sample some of the most interesting topics. Even the most math-phobic among us will be lulled into appreciation by Weaver's creative and disarming discussions of this supposedly formidable intellectual discipline. He covers all the basics: irrational and imaginary numbers, algebra, geometry, trigonometry, differential and integral calculus, the concepts of zero and infinity, vectors, set theory, chance and probability, and much more. In conclusion, he provides five fascinating historical profiles, reviewing the life and work of Copernicus, Descartes, Kepler, Galileo, and Newton. More than anyone else, these five geniuses were responsible for creating the mathematical foundations of the physical sciences, which continue to make possible extraordinary discoveries and technological achievements. This enjoyable volume gives readers a working knowledge of math's most important concepts, an appreciation of its elegant logical structure, and an understanding of its historical significance in creating our contemporary world.




Game Balance


Book Description

Within the field of game design, game balance can best be described as a black art. It is the process by which game designers make a game simultaneously fair for players while providing them just the right amount of difficulty to be both exciting and challenging without making the game entirely predictable. This involves a combination of mathematics, psychology, and occasionally other fields such as economics and game theory. Game Balance offers readers a dynamic look into game design and player theory. Throughout the book, relevant topics on the use of spreadsheet programs will be included in each chapter. This book therefore doubles as a useful reference on Microsoft Excel, Google Spreadsheets, and other spreadsheet programs and their uses for game designers. FEATURES The first and only book to explore game balance as a topic in depth Topics range from intermediate to advanced, while written in an accessible style that demystifies even the most challenging mathematical concepts to the point where a novice student of game design can understand and apply them Contains powerful spreadsheet techniques which have been tested with all major spreadsheet programs and battle-tested with real-world game design tasks Provides short-form exercises at the end of each chapter to allow for practice of the techniques discussed therein along with three long-term projects divided into parts throughout the book that involve their creation Written by award-winning designers with decades of experience in the field Ian Schreiber has been in the industry since 2000, first as a programmer and then as a game designer. He has worked on eight published game titles, training/simulation games for three Fortune 500 companies, and has advised countless student projects. He is the co-founder of Global Game Jam, the largest in-person game jam event in the world. Ian has taught game design and development courses at a variety of colleges and universities since 2006. Brenda Romero is a BAFTA award-winning game director, entrepreneur, artist, and Fulbright award recipient and is presently game director and creator of the Empire of Sin franchise. As a game director, she has worked on 50 games and contributed to many seminal titles, including the Wizardry and Jagged Alliance series and titles in the Ghost Recon, Dungeons & Dragons, and Def Jam franchises.




All about Craps


Book Description




Winning Casino Craps


Book Description

The second edition of Winning Casino Craps has been updated to cover changes in how the game is played and how casinos treat their players. This entertaining and informative guide includes: • Instructions for playing craps, including illustrative examples from actual games • Explanations for the basic betting combinations • Dos and don'ts for making bets • Aggressive winning strategies




Gambling's Greatest Secrets Revealed


Book Description




Luck, Logic, and White Lies


Book Description

Praise for the First Edition "Luck, Logic, and White Lies teaches readers of all backgrounds about the insight mathematical knowledge can bring and is highly recommended reading among avid game players, both to better understand the game itself and to improve one’s skills." – Midwest Book Review "The best book I've found for someone new to game math is Luck, Logic and White Lies by Jörg Bewersdorff. It introduces the reader to a vast mathematical literature, and does so in an enormously clear manner. . ." – Alfred Wallace, Musings, Ramblings, and Things Left Unsaid "The aim is to introduce the mathematics that will allow analysis of the problem or game. This is done in gentle stages, from chapter to chapter, so as to reach as broad an audience as possible . . . Anyone who likes games and has a taste for analytical thinking will enjoy this book." – Peter Fillmore, CMS Notes Luck, Logic, and White Lies: The Mathematics of Games, Second Edition considers a specific problem—generally a game or game fragment and introduces the related mathematical methods. It contains a section on the historical development of the theories of games of chance, and combinatorial and strategic games. This new edition features new and much refreshed chapters, including an all-new Part IV on the problem of how to measure skill in games. Readers are also introduced to new references and techniques developed since the previous edition. Features Provides a uniquely historical perspective on the mathematical underpinnings of a comprehensive list of games Suitable for a broad audience of differing mathematical levels. Anyone with a passion for games, game theory, and mathematics will enjoy this book, whether they be students, academics, or game enthusiasts Covers a wide selection of topics at a level that can be appreciated on a historical, recreational, and mathematical level. Jörg Bewersdorff (1958) studied mathematics from 1975 to 1982 at the University of Bonn and earned his PhD in 1985. In the same year, he started his career as game developer and mathematician. He served as the general manager of the subsidiaries of Gauselmann AG for more than two decades where he developed electronic gaming machines, automatic payment machines, and coin-operated Internet terminals. Dr. Bewersdorff has authored several books on Galois theory (translated in English and Korean), mathematical statistics, and object-oriented programming with JavaScript.