This new and updated textbook is an excellent way to introduce probability and information theory to students new to mathematics, computer science, engineering, statistics, economics, or business studies. Only requiring knowledge of basic calculus, it begins by building a clear and systematic foundation to probability and information. Classic topics covered include discrete and continuous random variables, entropy and mutual information, maximum entropy methods, the central limit theorem and the coding and transmission of information. Newly covered for this edition is modern material on Markov chains and their entropy. Examples and exercises are included to illustrate how to use the theory in a wide range of applications, with detailed solutions to most exercises available online for instructors.

Presents a survey of the history and evolution of the branch of mathematics that focuses on probability and statistics, including useful applications and notable mathematicians in this area.

An integrated package of powerful probabilistic tools and key applications in modern mathematical data science.

Probability theory

This book is a fresh approach to a calculus based, first course in probability and statistics, using R throughout to give a central role to data and simulation. The book introduces probability with Monte Carlo simulation as an essential tool. Simulation makes challenging probability questions quickly accessible and easily understandable. Mathematical approaches are included, using calculus when appropriate, but are always connected to experimental computations. Using R and simulation gives a nuanced understanding of statistical inference. The impact of departure from assumptions in statistical tests is emphasized, quantified using simulations, and demonstrated with real data. The book compares parametric and non-parametric methods through simulation, allowing for a thorough investigation of testing error and power. The text builds R skills from the outset, allowing modern methods of resampling and cross validation to be introduced along with traditional statistical techniques. Fifty-two data sets are included in the complementary R package fosdata. Most of these data sets are from recently published papers, so that you are working with current, real data, which is often large and messy. Two central chapters use powerful tidyverse tools (dplyr, ggplot2, tidyr, stringr) to wrangle data and produce meaningful visualizations. Preliminary versions of the book have been used for five semesters at Saint Louis University, and the majority of the more than 400 exercises have been classroom tested.

From the reviews: "This book nicely complements the existing literature on information and coding theory by concentrating on arbitrary nonstationary and/or nonergodic sources and channels with arbitrarily large alphabets. Even with such generality the authors have managed to successfully reach a highly unconventional but very fertile exposition rendering new insights into many problems." -- MATHEMATICAL REVIEWS

"Probability is one of the most interesting subjects in electrical engineering and computer science. It bridges our favorite engineering principles to the practical reality, a world that is full of uncertainty. However, because probability is such a mature subject, the undergraduate textbooks alone might fill several rows of shelves in a library. When the literature is so rich, the challenge becomes how one can pierce through to the insight while diving into the details. For example, many of you have used a normal random variable before, but have you ever wondered where the 'bell shape' comes from? Every probability class will teach you about flipping a coin, but how can 'flipping a coin' ever be useful in machine learning today? Data scientists use the Poisson random variables to model the internet traffic, but where does the gorgeous Poisson equation come from? This book is designed to fill these gaps with knowledge that is essential to all data science students." -- Preface.