January 14, 2008
Dr. Jason Rosenhouse, JMU

Monty Madness!  How an Elementary Probability Problem Illuminates the Nature of Human Thought

ABSTRACT:   The Monty Hall problem exploded onto the mathematical scene in 1990, when it appeared in a column by Marilyn Vos Savant in Parade Magazine. The correct solution proved to be so counterintuitive that even many mathematicians were fooled.  Since that time, the problem and its subtleties have been discussed by mathematicians, statisticians, psychologists, cognitive scientists, philosophers, lawyers and representatives of many other disciplines.  We will present a light-hearted look at what all the fuss is about.



BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: tba