Probability theory
Probability theory is the branch of mathematics concerned with probability, the analysis of random phenomena.
Description
The central objects of probability theory are random variables, stochastic processes, and events: mathematical abstractions of non-deterministic events or measured quantities that may either be single occurrences or evolve over time in an apparently random fashion.
If an individual coin toss or the roll of dice is considered to be a random event, then if repeated many times the sequence of random events will exhibit certain patterns, which can be studied and predicted.
Two representative mathematical results describing such patterns are the law of large numbers and the central limit theorem.
Applications and activities
As a mathematical foundation for statistics, probability theory is essential to many human activities that involve quantitative analysis of large sets of data.
Methods of probability theory also apply to descriptions of complex systems given only partial knowledge of their state, as in statistical mechanics.
A great discovery of twentieth century physics was the probabilistic nature of physical phenomena at atomic scales, described in quantum mechanics.
See also
External links
- Probability theory @ Wikipedia
