This book reflects one mathematician's view of certain areas of economics and finance. It is not a how-to book, it is not exhaustive or rigorous, and it comes with no guarantee of instant wealth. It tries to maximize the use of the reader's imagination and minimize rote calculation. Although some mathematical background is assumed, ordinary high school algebra will usually suffice. Whenever possible, a verbal rather than a mathematical explanation is given, but where formulas serve a useful purpose they are introduced without derivation or apology. We are primarily concerned with concepts...

Suppose you had the chance to invest in a venture that succeeds half the time. When you fail you lose your in vestment; when you succeed you make a profit of$1.60 for every $1.00 you invest. The odds are 8 to 5 in your favor and you should do well-casinos and insurance companies thrive under less favorable conditions. If you can invest as much as you like, as often as you like, using a betting system that guarantees you can't go broke, common sense suggests you will almost certainly make aprofitafteryou make a large numberofinvestments. In response to yourrequest for a hot stock...

This book reflects one mathematician's view of certain areas of economics and finance. It is not a how-to book, it is not exhaustive or rigorous, and it comes with no guarantee of instant wealth. It tries to maximize the use of the reader's imagination and minimize rote calculation. Although some mathematical background is assumed, ordinary high school algebra will usually suffice. Whenever possible, a verbal rather than a mathematical explanation is given, but where formulas serve a useful purpose they are introduced without derivation or apology. We are primarily concerned with concepts...