Archive for 2011-06-18

Two textbooks on probability using R

This fall, I’ll be teaching a second-year course on Probability with Computer Applications, which is required for Computer Science majors.  I’ve taught this before, but that was five years ago, so I’ve been looking to see what new textbooks would be suitable.  The course aims not just to use computer science applications as examples, but also to reinforce concepts of probability with programs, and to show how simulation can be used to solve problems that aren’t easily solved analytically. I’ve used R for the programming part, and plan to again, so I was naturally interested in two recent textbooks that seemed to have similar aims:

Introduction to Probability with R, Kenneth Baclawski, Chapman & Hall / CRC.

Probability with R: An Introduction with Computer Science Applications, Jane M. Horgan, Wiley.

I’ve now had a look at both of these textbooks.  Unfortunately, they are both seriously flawed.  Even more unfortunately, although some of the flaws in these books are particularly striking, I’ve seen similar, if usually less serious, problems in many other textbooks. (more…)

2011-06-18 at 11:34 pm 19 comments


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