I'm currently delving into research into some of the controversy surrounding classical probability, particularly the work of Daniel Bernoulli who was apparently a staunch antagonist against the standard model in use during his day. Much of what he wrote has only been the privy of scientists and is far less known than the writings of his nephew Jacob who wrote the now famous Ars Conjectandi (The Art of Conjecture) which has become one of the great milestones of probability math.

In contrast to the work of Pascal, Fermat, Huygens, Halley, and his relative Jacob, Daniel introduced the concept of personal and subjective utility to risk management and probability. It was very controversial at the time and remains so.

In the next few months I look forward to sharing what I learn.

I hope this is something people will find interesting, of course I'm mainly doing it because I just like learning this sorta stuff. No romance novels for this boy, give me a nice math book and a cup of tea and I'm stoked.

One rare book I'll recommend at this time is "Cardano, the Gambling Scholar" by Oystein Ore, which is a biography of Gerolamo Cardano and includes an English translation from the original Latin of "Liber de Ludo Aleae",The Book on Games of Chance...the first book ever written on probability math and gambling. Oddly it is still topical today and anyone that gambles should love reading it.

If anyone has suggestions on things I might enjoy reading please know the door swings both ways. I'd love some recommendations.

Happy Holidays...and see you all after New Years.