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Quantum Pings Library
Stochasticity (RadioLab episode)
- Type
- Audio
- By
- Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich
- Channel
- WNYC Studios
- Source
- RadioLab ↗
- Published
- 2009
RadioLab's episode on randomness — how stochastic processes run the world, and how our brains insist on finding order in the noise.
RadioLab, WNYC's long-running show about science and the strange, devoted an episode to stochasticity — the mathematics of randomness that quietly runs the world. It is one of the most listenable introductions to the subject available.
The episode works because it holds two things at once: genuine wonder at the strangeness of chance, and a clear-eyed account of why the patterns we see in noise are usually exactly that. For anyone who wants the skeptical side of this shelf without the dryness of a textbook, it is the ideal starting point.
The meaning
The show treats the mystery of chance with genuine wonder, which is the best of the non-dismissive treatments.
The skeptic
It is also a masterclass in why the patterns we see are usually noise — wonder and rigor in the same breath.
About the source
The hosts of RadioLab, WNYC's long-running show about science and the strange.
Key takeaways
- A RadioLab episode on randomness and our pattern-seeking brains.
- Blends wonder with a clear-eyed account of stochastic processes.
- One of the most listenable introductions to the skeptical side.