Question

Project 1. A bit of history. On page 409, we said, “The systematic study of randomness . . . began when seventeenth-century French gamblers asked French mathematicians for help in figuring out the ‘fair value’ of bets on games of chance.’’ Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal were two of the mathematicians who responded. Both are interesting characters. Choose one of these men. Write a brief essay giving his dates, some anecdotes you find noteworthy from his life, and at least one example of a probability problem he studied. (A Web search on the name will produce abundant information. Remember to use your own words in writing your essay.)