American Scientist

To the Editors:

Catalin Barboianu’s article, “Understanding the Odds” (Perspective, March–April), is well-informed and thoroughly enjoyable. His warning that the language of pure mathematics must be appropriately interpreted before its theorems can be applied is spot-on and too seldom heard.

The author’s recollection that studies were begun several decades ago “to test the hypothesis that teaching basic statistics and applied probability theory to problem gamblers would change their behavior” brought back the memory of an evening class that I taught 10 years ago at the University of South Alabama. The curriculum included teaching the basic probabilities involved in poker and then explaining why casinos enjoy favorable odds. One night I realized that many of my students, having grown up in the Bible Belt, had never played poker. I asked them whether they would like to learn how to play at our next class, just before spring break. All hands shot up. I thought, “Why not teach them to play? I have tenure.”

My cautionary lessons were successful, but not in the way I had expected. When my students returned from break, one of them couldn’t wait to give me his news: “Dr. Silver! Guess what! I won 150 bucks at a casino in Biloxi!”

Daniel S. Silver
Mobile, AL