1. How
does Pascal’s reasoning of imagined completion of the game
differ from other viewpoints at the time?
2. As
recently as the 1944, it was argued that number theory had
“absolutely no practical use.” Number theory now is used for
encryption. What other possible uses does number theory have
in our ever evolving high-tech world?
3. Why
do you think Fermat was so secretive, to the point that
Descartes attacked him and forced him to reveal some of his
proofs?
5.
Considering the difficulties of communicating in the 1600’s,
it is very impressive that Pascal and Fermat were able to work
closely together without ever coming face to face. Knowing
that Fermat was highly secretive, what do you think caused him
to trust and work closely with someone that he never met?
8. The
Chevalier de Méré has two strategies, with the probability of
rolling a 6 with 1d6 thrown four times, and rolling double 6
on 2d6 over twenty-four rolls. What could the Chevalier do to
increase his odds in the second case?
13. Fermat often changes the topic when Pascal’s
explanations to Fermat’s solutions are drawn-out or
confusing (81), why do you think he does this? Why does he
not instruct Pascal on his simplified way of figuring out
problems?
21. Pascal and Fermat are unaware of the impact they have
on the world of mathematics, whereas Gaunt was convinced
his pamphlet would have an impact, where do you think this
34. Pascal combined his knowledge of philosophy and
mathematics in his theory known as “Pascal’s Wager” and
Devlin (the author) calls it “cute” (101). Do you believe
that probability has a place in discussing faith, or is it
simply musing for fun?
55. What made using probability for determining potential
lifespan any more morally acceptable than using it for
gambling, and the act of gambling itself?
89. Is the modern day life insurance industry ethically
acceptable, given that it’s effectively gambling about
human life?
144. Did the plague’s severity have a significant effect
on the king’s willingness to induct Graunt into the Royal
Society for his research on predicting disease?