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As a student I discovered in our library a thin booklet by Frederick Mosteller entitled50 Challenging Problems in Probability. Itreferredtoas- plementary "regular textbook" by William Feller, An Introduction to Pro- bilityTheoryanditsApplications.SoItookthisonealong,too,andstartedon the ?rst of Mosteller's problems on the train riding home. From that evening, I caught on to probability. These two books were not primarily about abstract formalisms but rather about basic modeling ideas and about ways - often extremely elegant ones - to apply those notions to a surprising variety of empirical phenomena. Essentially, these books taught the reader the skill to "think probabilistically" and to apply simple probability models to real-world problems. The present book is in this tradition; it is based on the view that those cognitive skills are best acquired by solving challenging, nonstandard pro- bility problems. My own experience, both in learning and in teaching, is that challenging problems often help to develop, and to sharpen, our probabilistic intuition much better than plain-style deductions from abstract concepts.
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From the reviews:
"Wolfgang Schwarz's collection of 40 problems, hints for approaching them, and their solutions is a genuinely valuable resource for the experienced (and not-so-experienced) probability teacher. ... There are ... problems, all potentially useful to anyone teaching probability and mathematical statistics. The difficulty level ranges nicely from elementary to sophisticated, so most readers will find something challenging here." (Mark Bollman, MathDL, January, 2008)
"In this work, Schwarz ... provides a collection of problems involving probability theory and mathematical statistics. ... This book may be of interest to advanced students studying probability theory. ... Summing Up: Recommended. Libraries serving upper-division undergraduates and graduate students." (B. Borchers, Choice, Vol. 46 (6), February, 2009)
"It contains an eclectic selection of problems from a reasonably wide range of topics in probability and statistics ... . In brief, this is an enjoyable book that is to be recommended to anyone looking for a very concise collection of good and interesting problems and puzzles in these subjects." (David Stirzaker, Siam Review, Vol. 51 (1), 2009)
