Math's in your cards, so deal with it

Photo by Carol Clark

A 17th-century French gambler helped spark the modern theory of probability, says Ron Gould, author of the newly published "Mathematics in Games, Sports and Gambling: The Games People Play."

The textbook, based on Gould's popular freshman seminar by the same name, reveals elementary probability theory and discrete mathematics through card tricks, dice rolling, baseball and other sports and games.

The aim is to help students develop a more logical, questioning approach to solving problems. "And, I hope they have a good time," adds Gould, a Goodrich C. White Professor of Mathematics who has taught at Emory for 30 years.

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