Blaise Pascal Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Probability=== Pascal's development of [[probability theory]] was his most influential contribution to mathematics. Originally applied to gambling, today it is extremely important in economics, especially in [[actuarial science]]. John Ross writes, "Probability theory and the discoveries following it changed the way we regard uncertainty, risk, decision-making, and an individual's and society's ability to influence the course of future events."<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ross|first1=John F.|year=2004|title=Pascal's legacy|journal=EMBO Reports|volume=5|issue=Suppl 1|pages=S7–S10|doi=10.1038/sj.embor.7400229|pmc=1299210|pmid=15459727}}</ref> However, Pascal and Fermat, though doing important early work in probability theory, did not develop the field very far. [[Christiaan Huygens]], learning of the subject from the correspondence of Pascal and Fermat, wrote the first book on the subject. Later figures who continued the development of the theory include [[Abraham de Moivre]] and [[Pierre-Simon Laplace]]. In 1654, prompted by his friend the [[Chevalier de Méré]], he corresponded with [[Pierre de Fermat]] on the subject of gambling problems, and from that collaboration was born the mathematical theory of [[probability|probabilities]].{{sfn|Devlin|p=24}} The specific problem was that of two players who want to finish a game early and, given the current circumstances of the game, want to [[division of the stakes|divide the stakes fairly]], based on the chance each has of winning the game from that point. From this discussion, the notion of [[expected value]] was introduced. Pascal later (in the ''Pensées'') used a probabilistic argument, [[Pascal's wager]], to justify belief in God and a virtuous life. The work done by Fermat and Pascal into the calculus of probabilities laid important groundwork for [[Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz|Leibniz]]' formulation of the [[calculus]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Mathematical Leibniz|url=http://www.math.rutgers.edu/courses/436/Honors02/leibniz.html|access-date=16 August 2009|publisher=Math.rutgers.edu|archive-date=3 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203084344/http://www.math.rutgers.edu/courses/436/Honors02/leibniz.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page