The Little Purple Probability Book: Master the Thinking Skills to Succeed in Basic Probability

For Math and Numeracy Aficionados from All Walks of Life!

Fine-tune your numerical mindset with a quantitative review that serves as a tool for perceiving probability in a new way. Whether you’re a high school student, college student, or a test-prep candidate, this book’s wealth of explanations and insights makes it a perfect learning companion.

Enjoy the benefits of your own short course in probability:
•Be able to think conceptually by understanding how key problems “fit” within the main topics of probability, permutations, combinations, and enumerations.
•Master basic probability using a simple “flowchart” to identify the correct formulas.
•Understand when to “add” probabilities and when to “multiply” probabilities.
•Be able to distinguish between events that are independent versus not independent and events that are mutually exclusive versus not mutually exclusive.
•Grasp key differences between permutations and combinations and look for key words such as “arrangements” or “selections” to indicate the correct problem type.
•Solve tricky permutation problems that involve repeated letters or numbers.
•Approach probability problems with a newfound confidence and competency.

This book is focused on those thinking skills that are essential for mastering basic probability. Such thinking skills make it much more likely that a person will be able to understand the “how” and “why” of problem solving, approach the subject in a conceptual way, and grasp those key principles that act as themes to bind related problems. These skills combine the science of math with the art of numbers.

Author’s bio: Brandon Royal (CPA, MBA) is an award-winning writer whose educational authorship includes The Little Green Math Book, The Little Blue Reasoning, The Little Red Writing Book, and The Little Gold Grammar Book. During his tenure working in Hong Kong for US-based Kaplan Educational Centers – a Washington Post subsidiary and the largest test-preparation organization in the world – Brandon honed his theories of teaching and education and developed a set of key learning “principles” to help define the basics of writing, grammar, math, and reasoning. A Canadian by birth and graduate of the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, his interest in writing began after completing writing courses at Harvard University. Since then he has authored a dozen books and reviews of his books have appeared in Time Asia magazine, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal of America, Midwest Book Review, The Asian Review of Books, Choice Reviews Online, Asia Times Online, and About.com. Brandon is a five-time winner of the International Book Awards, a seven-time gold medalist at the President’s Book Awards, as well as recipient of the “Educational Book of the Year” award as presented by the Book Publishers Association of Alberta. He has also been a winner or finalist at the Ben Franklin Book Awards, the Global eBook Awards, the Beverly Hills Book Awards, the IPPY Awards, the USA Book News “Best Book Awards,” and the Foreword magazine Book of the Year Awards. He continues to write and publish in the belief that there will always be a place for books that inspire, enlighten, and enrich.

“To get started in probability theory, all you need are a few basic principles. Here they are, clear and uncluttered, in a short, simple book that comes as a welcome breath of fresh air.” —Dr. Ian Stewart, author of 17 Equations That Changed the World and the Cabinet of Mathematical Curiosities