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Re:A review of probability theory by amichail on Saturday January 02, 2010 @01:01PM (#1027430)
I think a better way is needed to teach probability.

Perhaps something more visual and involving interactivity (like visual programming).

What percentage of students after having passed a probability course can define a random variable?

Re:A review of probability theory by eel on Saturday January 02, 2010 @02:06PM (#1027514)
> What percentage of students after having passed a probability course can define a random variable?

In a typical probability theory course, all of them, hopefully. I found random variables to be a crucial part of my probability theory class, being used in almost all (if not all) topics after the first month.

There are certainly other approaches to learning probability theory (though perhaps not what you were thinking.) I understand that E.T. Jaynes' book on probability theory, which I have not yet read, does not go the route of random variables.

Re:A review of probability theory by amichail on Saturday January 02, 2010 @03:05PM (#1027581)
Students can still solve many sorts of problems without a good understanding of foundations.

They may use random variables frequently without being able to define them.

Re:A review of probability theory by nova on Saturday January 02, 2010 @02:29PM (#1027539)
I understand that E.T. Jaynes' book on probability theory, which I have not yet read, does not go the route of random variables.

Jaynes' book is excellent but is more about the philosophy of the Bayesian interpretation of probability than mathematics.

His problem with "random variables" is not so much the concept (although he wasn't a fan of measure theory), but the "random" in the name.

Re:A review of probability theory by MaysonL on Saturday January 02, 2010 @04:14PM (#1027667)
A better question would be: what percentage understand what a random variable is and will be able to apply this understanding later. See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WwslBPj8GgI for exploration of the difference by a Harvard physics professor who realized a few years into his teaching career that most of his into physics students weren't learning very much, although they were able to apply all the appropriate mathematical recipes to all the standard type homework and exam questions.
Re:A review of probability theory by roundsquare on Saturday January 02, 2010 @10:57PM (#1028166)
I think your point is true when it comes to teaching introductory probability or perhaps even a second and third course in probability. However, at some point, it becomes necessary to dive into things formally.

This blog entry is meant for a review for a graduate level course, so it makes sense that it runs through a lot of formal definitions.