Probability and statistics learning recommendations
This page provides subject-specific learning recommendations for the subject probability. See all our learning recommendations pages |
This page provides subject-specific learning recommendations for the subject statistics. See all our learning recommendations pages |
This page includes recommendations on the closely intertwined subjects of probability and statistics.
Books for self-learning probability and statistics
These books start with a foundation of probability and then use it for statistics. Most of the recommendations include the Bayesian approach, though they may not focus exclusively on this approach.
| Book | Author(s) | ISBN and purchase links | Price estimate | Who we're recommending it for and why we're recommending it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Probability Theory: The Logic of Science | E. T. Jaynes (author), G. Larry Bretthorst (editor; the book was published after Jaynes' death; Bretthorst edited and polished Jaynes' manuscript for publication) | ISBN 978-0521592710, Amazon Kindle | Kindle edition ~$50, Hardcover ~$100 | The book provides a lengthy conceptual and philosophical foundation for probability, albeit one that is not universally accepted. If you're interested a lot in the why and what of probability, rather than simply the execution aspects, this might be the book for you. |
| Applied Bayesian Modeling and Causal Inference from Incomplete-Data Perspectives (Wiley Series in Probability and Statistics) | Andrew Gelman (editor) and Xiao-Li Meng (editor) | ISBN 978-0470090435, Amazon Kindle | $75-100 | The book quickly gets to how to apply probability to the analysis of social and political problems. Cyan's comments in the LessWrong thread about the best textbooks views Gelman favorably in this light compared to Jaynes and Bernardo. |