Odds and Gods: How Chance Became a Science

For most of human history, the future was left to fate, luck, and the heavens. Humanity didn't manage uncertainty, we simply endured it. But a brilliant and eccentric lineage of gamblers, philosophers, and mathematicians decided to measure the unknown.

Inspired partially by Peter L. Bernstein’s classic Against the Gods, this talk traces an intellectual bloodline of risk, exploring its family tree.

By mapping how our ancestors transformed chance from a mystery into a rigorous science, this talk reveals more than just the history of numbers. It exposes some of the foundational tools that built the modern world and shows us how understanding the past can help us navigate the uncertainties of our own future.

This session will be led by Aleem.

Bring wine/beer/drinks/food/snacks/whatever to share.

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Press the buzzer marked Semi Sotano 2 (bottom left-hand button) to be let in. It's down the stairs, first door on the right.

Image: Christ in the Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt van Rijn, 1633.