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David J. Hand
- Type
- Person
- By
- Statistician
- Affiliation
- Imperial College London
- Source
- Wikipedia ↗
The statistician who wrote the definitive skeptical book on why improbable events are commonplace.
David J. Hand is a British statistician, an emeritus professor at Imperial College London, and a former president of the Royal Statistical Society. His book The Improbability Principle (2014) is the definitive popular statement of the statistical case against the uncanny.
Hand's contribution is a single, memorable claim: extremely improbable events are commonplace. It sounds paradoxical, and that is the point — the paradox dissolves once you count the opportunities. Hand is scrupulously fair about why the feeling of meaning is real even while he explains the events behind it, which is what makes him the clearest voice on this side of the shelf.
Extremely improbable events are commonplace.
The meaning
Hand is scrupulously fair about why the feeling of meaning is real, even while he dissolves the events behind it.
The skeptic
His "improbability principle" is the single clearest mathematical case that coincidence needs no deeper explanation.
About this person
British statistician, emeritus professor at Imperial College London, and author of The Improbability Principle.
Key takeaways
- Author of The Improbability Principle (2014).
- Former president of the Royal Statistical Society.
- The clearest voice for the statistical account of coincidence.