''The Drunkard's Walk'' discusses the role of randomness in everyday events, and the
cognitive biases that lead people to misinterpret random events and
stochastic processes. The title refers to a certain type of
random walk, a mathematical process in which one or more variables change value under a series of random steps. Mlodinow discusses the contributions of mathematical heavyweights
Jacob Bernoulli,
Pierre-Simon Laplace, and
Blaise Pascal, and introduces basic statistical concepts such as
regression toward the mean and the
law of large numbers, while discussing the role of probability in examples from wine ratings and school grades to political polls. ==Reception==