The Norm chronicles

Michael Blastland, David Spiegelhalter

Why I looked at this book

I'm interested in the philosophy of probability and in particular in how people's attitude to risk shape the way they live their lives. I hope that this book will give me a tour of many of the different risks we face in our lives and how we respond to them.

First impressions

"Within people's attitudes to risk lie many of life's deepest tensions" - it seems to be very much what I'm looking for. The expression of risk in terms of Micromorts also looks helpful. Quite a bit of the book, though, seems to be stories about Norm and his friends. As examples of 'What If?' questions these should help to highlight our attitudes to risk, as well as making the book more entertaining to read. I'm a bit worried though that the storytelling might overwhelm the important parts. I'll have to see.