The Drunkard's Walk- How Randomness Rules Our Lives

Author: Leonard Mlodinow

Genre: Nonfiction/ Science

Pages: 219

Other books: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior, Emotional: How Feelings Shape Our Thinking

Star Rating: 5 = Highly Recommend

Have you ever wondered how some people win the lottery? Have you thought, how did they get so lucky? Or, have you ever wondered why some people (or yourself) is having such bad luck? What about when you read or hear a story about a tragic event and thought what if that was me? Are some instances more common than we think?

These wonders of the world might have you pondering when you are walking your dog or talking to a friend, but what if you knew how these events happened? For example, what if you knew how often numbers are selected? What if you knew your chances or winning? Is it possible?

Mlodinow, takes real case scenarios and dives deep into these common wonders of the world. He talks about how events happen, how common the event is and the probability you might experience it. From winning the lottery and finding your soulmate to being diagnosed with a terrible disease. The author does a fantastic job breaking down the good and the bad in life. When it comes down to good and bad luck is there a such thing? That’s what Mlodinow cares to explain.

With the authors thorough research he makes it fun and easy to go behind the scenes of these tactical questions. Don’t be afraid of the math and statistical jargon he throws at you, he takes the time to explain the smallest of equations.

I found this book inspiring and powerful. If you are like me and are fact and analytical thinking, this book is for you! My parents, recently, got in a serious car accident. My first thought, as would anyone would, is why? Why me? Some people call it Karma (As much as I am a Taylor Swift fan, (“Karma is my boyfriend, Karma is a god, Karma is a cat purring in my lap because it loves me”) I need better explanations) or maybe it is faith.. This book answered all my questions about why. This book also has helped me be a better decision maker. Which is relieving because in recent times I have been placed into risky situations where I needed to make the best decision for me and my family. How do I know I made the right decision? What if I made the wrong one? Also, as a new mom, it also gave me a better persecutive on life and what could happen in the future. How to best be prepared.

Highly recommend to everyone, not only does it explain probability in an easy way, the author explains how people, businesses, or companies can potentially lie with data and statistics. Think about the stats that you hear on the news “18% of children learn dogs are blue from the television”. Who does these experiments? How do we know these are correct? We don’t have to be scientists to understand what goes on in the background calculations, you just need to think outside of what you are being told.