The author proposes in this practical guide for both problem and non-problem gamblers a new pragmatic, conceptual approach of gambling mathematics. The primary aim of this guide is the adequate understanding of the essence and complexity of gambling through its mathematical dimension. The author starts from the premise that formal gambling mathematics, which is hardly even digestible for the non-math-inclined gamblers, is ineffective alone in correcting the specific cognitive distortions associated with gambling. By applying the latest research results in this (...) field, the author blends the gambling-mathematics concepts with the epistemology of applied mathematics and cognitive psychology for providing gamblers the knowledge required for rational and safe gambling. (shrink)

Randomness, a core concept of gambling, is seen in problem gambling as responsible for the formation of the math-related cognitive distortions, especially the Gambler’s Fallacy. In problem-gambling research, the concept of randomness was traditionally referred to as having a mathematical nature and categorized and approached as such. Randomness is not a mathematical concept, and I argue that its weak mathematical dimension is not decisive at all for the randomness-related issues in gambling and problem gambling, including the correction of the misconceptions (...) and fallacies about probability and statistical concepts applied in gambling. I distinguish between mathematical and nonmathematical dimensions of randomness (the epistemic, the theoretical-methodological, the functional, and the ethical) falling within the general concept, and I argue that both the studies having as object the math-related cognitive distortions among gamblers and the educational programs aiming at correcting them should employ this distinction in their design and content. (shrink)

In light of the observations and research design presented in the previous reports, the current technical report is focused on the relationship between the quality and specificity of the content of the gambling sites and the site’s SEO and marketing policy. This relationship is dependent upon the category of the gambling site and the difference in content quality, and the degree to which the mathematical dimension of gambling is reflected in this content is explained by this dependence.

With the previous technical reports, we presented the main insights from the qualitative analysis of the reflection of the mathematical dimension of gambling in gambling-related sites, in its structural, linguistic, epistemic, and informative aspects. In this report we will focus on the factors responsible for the patterns that the content of the gambling-related sites exhibit and the way that the mathematical dimension of gambling is reflected in this content, namely the factors that influence the content policies of these sites. The (...) report will also point to further directions of research-for both this project and for other investigators-for finding the appropriate balance and relation between the commercial policies on the one hand, and the adequacy and ethics of the content on the other hand. (shrink)

The current study evaluates qualitatively how the mathematical dimension of gambling is reflected in the content of gambling websites. A number of gambling websites have been reviewed for their content in that respect. A statistical analysis recorded the presence of the mathematical dimension of gambling and its forms in the content of the participating websites, and a qualitative research study analyzed and assessed the quality of the content with respect to that dimension. The technical reports associated with this study describe (...) the methods used in the processes of review and content analysis, details of the processes, and the specific challenges and difficulties that they posed. (shrink)

The current technical report of the research project investigating how the mathematical dimension of gambling is reflected in the communication and texts associated with the gambling industry raises the problem of the adequacy of sampling and proposes a new approach in this respect. The qualitative analysis of the reviewed websites is extended to a deeper analysis of language and also to the organization and structure of websites’ content. Although not stated as a goal of the initial project, the research will (...) also try to identify relationships between the specificity of content relative to the mathematical dimension of gambling, and the management and marketing of the website. An overview of the results of the statistical analysis of the current sample is also presented. (shrink)

Aceasta nu este o carte de matematică, ci una despre matematică, care se adresează elevului sau studentului, dar şi dascălului său, cu un scop cât se poate de practic, anume acela de a iniţia şi netezi calea către înţelegerea completă a matematicii predate în şcoală. Tradiţia predării matematicii într-o abordare preponderent procedural-formală a avut ca efect o viziune deformată a elevilor asupra matematicii, ca fiind ceva strict formal, instrumental şi calculatoriu. Pierzând contactul cu baza conceptuală a matematicii, elevii dezvoltă pe (...) parcurs o "anxietate matematică" şi renunţă la a mai căuta înţelegerea matematicii, care devine "duşmanul tradiţional" din şcoală. Această lucrare şi-a propus materializarea rezultatelor cercetărilor inter- şi trans-disciplinare având ca obiect înţelegerea matematicii, care au concluzionat că domeniile care au potenţialul de a contribui în acest fel la educaţia matematicii, unificând abordările procedurală şi conceptuală, sunt epistemologia şi filosofia matematicii şi ştiinţei, precum şi fundamentele şi istoria matematicii. Aceste rezultate susţin teza că teama de matematică poate fi înlăturată prin abordarea conceptuală, iar un elev cu o bună înţelegere conceptuală va fi un rezolvitor de probleme mai bun. Autorul a identificat acele zone şi concepte aparţinând acestor discipline, care pot fi adaptate şi prelucrate în vederea familiarizării elevului sau studentului cu acest tip de cunoştinţe, care să însoţească conţinutul tradiţional al matematicii şcolare. Lucrarea a fost astfel organizată încât să contureze cititorului o imagine unificatoare asupra complexităţii naturii matematicii, precum şi o perspectivă conceptuală necesară, în final, înţelegerii de tip holistic a matematicii şcolare. Autorul vorbeşte despre matematică, pentru a convinge că a înţelege matematica înseamnă mai întâi să o înţelegem ca întreg, dar şi ca parte a unui întreg. Natura matematicii, conceptele sale primare (cum ar fi numerele şi mulţimile), structurile, limbajul, metodele, rolurile şi aplicabilitatea matematicii, sunt prezentate în conţinutul lor esenţial, iar explicarea conceptelor non-matematice este făcută într-un limbaj accesibil, însoţită de multe exemple relevante. Cartea este o unitate didactică concepută să reprezinte punctul de plecare şi un ghid de orientare către dobândirea înţelegerii de tip holistic a matematicii (pentru elev sau student) şi (pentru dascăl) către o predare de tip epistemic-conceptual, în care înţelegerea conceptuală este la fel de importantă ca antrenarea abilităţilor procedural-aplicative. (shrink)

În acest volum, autorul prezintă în mod critic modelele teoretice dezvoltate pentru a reprezenta aplicarea şi aplicabilitatea matematicii în ştiinţe şi universul fizic, oferind soluţii constructive care răspund obiecţiilor fundamentale ridicate la aceste modele. Atenţia principală este acordată modelelor structurale, deoarece noţiunea de structură matematică intervine esenţial atât în caracterizarea matematicii pure, cât şi aplicate, iar procesele mentale implică la rândul lor reprezentări de tip structural. Propunerile făcute, atât ca alternative structurale, cât şi prin noile cadre conceptuale şi metodologiile implicite, (...) vor fi analizate inclusiv în vederea posibilităţii unei unificări teoretice, către un model unic al aplicării şi aplicabilităţii matematicii, care să ofere justificarea metateoretică a utilizării matematicii ca metodă ştiinţifică de prim rang şi să contribuie cu aport explicativ la rezolvarea “misterelor” filosofice care înconjoară aplicabilitatea matematicii. -/- Lucrarea completează primul volum, dedicat puzzle-ului lui Wigner privind ‘eficacitatea iraţională a matematicii’ şi soluţiilor oferite la acesta, adresându-se în special – dar nu exclusiv – matematicienilor, fizicienilor, filosofilor ştiinţei, filosofilor limbajului şi epistemologilor, dar şi studenţilor acestor discipline. (shrink)

This is not a mathematics book, but a book about mathematics, which addresses both student and teacher, with a goal as practical as possible, namely to initiate and smooth the way toward the student’s full understanding of the mathematics taught in school. The customary procedural-formal approach to teaching mathematics has resulted in students’ distorted vision of mathematics as a merely formal, instrumental, and computational discipline. Without the conceptual base of mathematics, students develop over time a “mathematical anxiety” and abandon any (...) effort to understand mathematics, which becomes their “traditional enemy” in school. This work materializes the results of the inter- and trans-disciplinary research aimed toward the understanding of mathematics, which concluded that the fields with the potential to contribute to mathematics education in this respect, by unifying the procedural and conceptual approaches, are epistemology and philosophy of mathematics and science, as well as fundamentals and history of mathematics. These results argue that students’ fear of mathematics can be annulled through a conceptual approach, and a student with a good conceptual understanding will be a better problem solver. The author has identified those zones and concepts from the above disciplines that can be adapted and processed for familiarizing the student with this type of knowledge, which should accompany the traditional content of school mathematics. The work was organized so as to create for the reader a unificatory image of the complex nature of mathematics, as well as a conceptual perspective ultimately necessary to the holistic understanding of school mathematics. The author talks about mathematics to convince readers that to understand mathematics means first to understand it as a whole, but also as part of a whole. The nature of mathematics, its primary concepts (like numbers and sets), its structures, language, methods, roles, and applicability, are all presented in their essential content, and the explanation of non-mathematical concepts is done in an accessible language and with many relevant examples. (shrink)

Research on epistemic circularity has focused more on the problem of whether circular arguments are able to justify their conclusions rather than on the nature of circularity itself, and has kept a sharp delimitation from other types of circularities (logical, linguistic, and of definition). In this paper, I aim to move the focus toward the general concept of circularity, which I relate to the concept of ‘epistemic worry’. Through a brief overview on the known types of circularities, I show that (...) circularity has multiple natures (not only that associated with its type), and the linguistic aspect is essential in qualifying a construct as circular, which in turn raises the problem of genuineness of a circularity. Within an extensional approach, I suggest generalizing the meaning of the key epistemological terms referred to in the classical definition of epistemic circularity to also cover additional associated concepts specific to other theoretical disciplines beyond epistemology. The proposed concepts and ideas are reflected in a structural unificatory account of circularity in terms of epistemic determination, which raises a challenge to the relational accounts of determination in regard to the transitivity of the determination relation. (shrink)

The attempts of theoretically solving the famous puzzle-dictum of physicist Eugene Wigner regarding the “unreasonable” effectiveness of mathematics as a problem of analytical philosophy, started at the end of the 19th century, are yet far from coming out with an acceptable theoretical solution. The theories developed for explaining the empirical “miracle” of applied mathematics vary in nature, foundation and solution, from denying the existence of a genuine problem to structural theories with an advanced level of mathematical formalism. Despite this variation, (...) methodologically fundamental questions like “Which is the adequate theoretical framework for solving Wigner’s conjecture?” and “Can the logico-mathematical formalism solve it and is it entitled to do it?” did not receive answers yet. The problem of the applicability of mathematics in the physical reality has been treated unitarily in some sense, with respect to the semantic-conceptual use of the constitutive terms, within both the structural and non-structural theories. This unity (of consistency) applied to both the referred objects and concepts per se and the aims of the investigations. For being able to make an objective study of the possible alternatives of the existent theories, a foundational approach of them is needed, including through semantic-conceptual distinctions which to weaken the unity of consistency. (shrink)

The article addresses the necessity of increasing the role of mathematics in the psychological intervention in problem gambling, including cognitive therapies. It also calls for interdisciplinary research with the direct contribution of mathematics. The current contributions and limitations of the role of mathematics are analysed with an eye toward the professional profiles of the researchers. An enhanced collaboration between these two disciplines is suggested and predicted.

Games of chance are developed in their physical consumer-ready form on the basis of mathematical models, which stand as the premises of their existence and represent their physical processes. There is a prevalence of statistical and probabilistic models in the interest of all parties involved in the study of gambling – researchers, game producers and operators, and players – while functional models are of interest more to math-inclined players than problem-gambling researchers. In this paper I present a structural analysis of (...) the knowledge attached to mathematical models of games of chance and the act of modeling, arguing that such knowledge holds potential in the prevention and cognitive treatment of excessive gambling, and I propose further research in this direction. (shrink)

Slot machines gained a high popularity despite a specific element that could limit their appeal: non-transparency with respect to mathematical parameters. The PAR sheets, exposing the parameters of the design of slot machines and probabilities associated with the winning combinations are kept secret by game producers, and the lack of data regarding the configuration of a machine prevents people from computing probabilities and other mathematical indicators. In this article, I argue that there is no rational justification for this secrecy by (...) giving two reasons, one psychological and the other mathematical. For the latter, I show that mathematics provides us with some statistical methods of retrieving the missing data, which are essential for the numerical probability computations in slots. The slots case raises the problem of the exposure of the parametric configuration and mathematical facts of any game of chance as an ethical obligation. (shrink)

Research on interdisciplinarity has been concentrated on the methodological and educational aspects of this complex phenomenon and less on its theoretical nature. Within a theoretical framework specific to the philosophy of science, I propose a structural scheme of how interdisciplinary processes go, focusing on the concepts of availability of the methods, concept linking, and theoretical modeling. In this model, the challenges interdisciplinarity is claimed to pose to its practitioners are of the same nature as the challenges scientists encounter within the (...) evolution of their own disciplines. (shrink)

The near-miss has been considered an important factor of reinforcement in gambling behavior, and previous research has focused more on its industry-related causes and effects and less on the gaming phenomenon itself. The near-miss has usually been associated with the games of slots and scratch cards, due to the special characteristics of these games, which include the possibility of pre-manipulation of award symbols in order to increase the frequency of these “engineered” near-misses. In this paper, we argue that starting from (...) an elementary mathematical description of the classical (by pure chance) near-miss, generalizable to any game, and focusing equally on the epistemology of its constitutive concepts and their mathematical description, we can identify more precisely the fallacious elements of the near-miss cognitive effects and the inadequate perception and representation of the observational-intentional “I was that close.” This approach further suggests a strategy of using non-standard mathematical knowledge of an epistemological type in problem-gambling prevention and cognitive therapies. (shrink)

Asemenea altor procese istorice, procesul de destrămare a regimurilor comuniste din Europa Centrală și de Est nu poate fi periodizat cu ușurință și nu poate fi corelat cu o explicație cauzală irefutabilă. Prăbușirea acestor regimuri s-a petrecut accelerat în cursul anului 1989, însă procesul de decompensare a început mult mai devreme. Când anume? – Este foarte greu de spus. Fără îndoială, au existat cauze obiective care au dus la rezultatele spectaculoase consemnate de istorie, însă a existat și un joc al (...) întâmplărilor fericite, precum și un impact aproape imposibil de măsurat al unor factori subiectivi. Destrămarea regimurilor comuniste din Europa Centrală și de Est nu a părut inevitabilă pentru actorii scenei politice din anul 1989, după cum nu ni se pare nici nouă că ar fi fost vorba de un proces inexorabil, la trei decenii de la evenimentele respective. Dat fiind caracterul puțin previzibil al evenimentelor care au marcat destrămarea regimurilor comuniste din Blocul Estic, nu este de mirare că ziariștii de la „Scînteia“ au aplicat până la capăt stratageme propagandistice menite să apere în sfera mediatică establishment-ul comunist: (a) supradimensionarea taberei proprii, respectiv deprecierea adversarului; (b) prezentarea lacunară sau abstractizantă a faptelor; (c) decontextualizarea; (d) mistificarea. În ciuda „virtuozității“ de care au dat dovadă ziariștii, aceste stratageme propagandiste nu au dat rezultatele scontate, în primul rând din cauza faptului că regimul ceaușist nu controla perfect mediul informațional din țară. Cetățenii români puteau corobora informațiile oficiale din „Scînteia“ cu informațiile obținute de la Europa Liberă, Vocea Americii, posturile radio și TV din țările vecine. Cea mai întristătoare concluzie este însă aceea că articolele din „Scînteia“ au creat pentru România regimului Ceaușescu imaginea unei fortărețe a ortodoxiei socialiste. Până în ultima zi a regimului comunist din România (22 decembrie 1989), publicația „Scînteia“ s-a dovedit a fi organul de presă obedient al Partidului Comunist Român, partid aflat în cea mai dogmatică și inflexibilă perioadă de viață. Nu este de mirare, în aceste condiții, că sfârșitul regimului Ceaușescu a însemnat sfârșitul Partidului Comunist Român și sfârșitul ziarului „Scînteia“. (shrink)

Book Review Luck, logic, and white lies: the mathematics of games, second edition by Jörg Bewersdorff, New York, Taylor & Francis, CRC Press, 2021, 568 pp., GBP 42.99 (paperback), ISBN 9780367548414, Number of chapters 51.

On the question of whether gambling behavior can be changed as result of teaching gamblers the mathematics of gambling, past studies have yielded contradictory results, and a clear conclusion has not yet been drawn. In this paper, I bring some criticisms to the empirical studies that tended to answer no to this hypothesis, regarding the sampling and laboratory testing, and I argue that an optimal mathematical scholastic intervention with the objective of preventing problem gambling is possible, by providing the principles (...) that would optimize the structure and content of the teaching module. Given the ethical aspects of the exposure of mathematical facts behind games of chance, and starting from the slots case – where the parametric design is missing, we have to draw a line between ethical and optional information with respect to the mathematical content provided by a scholastic intervention. Arguing for the role of mathematics in problem-gambling prevention and treatment, interdisciplinary research directions are drawn toward implementing an optimal mathematical module in cognitive therapies. (shrink)

Contemporary philosophical accounts of the applicability of mathematics in physical sciences and the empirical world are based on formalized relations between the mathematical structures and the physical systems they are supposed to represent within the models. Such relations were constructed both to ensure an adequate representation and to allow a justification of the validity of the mathematical models as means of scientific inference. This article puts in evidence the various circularities (logical, epistemic, and of definition) that are present in these (...) formal constructions and discusses them as an argument for the alternative semantic and propositional-structure accounts of the applicability of mathematics. (shrink)

The predisposition of the Indispensability Argument to objections, rephrasing and versions associated with the various views in philosophy of mathematics grants it a special status of a “blueprint” type rather than a debatable theme in the philosophy of science. From this point of view, it follows that the Argument has more an epistemic character than ontological.

The classical (set-theoretic) concept of structure has become essential for every contemporary account of a scientific theory, but also for the metatheoretical accounts dealing with the adequacy of such theories and their methods. In the latter category of accounts, and in particular, the structural metamodels designed for the applicability of mathematics have struggled over the last decade to justify the use of mathematical models in sciences beyond their 'indispensability' in terms of either method or concepts/entities. In this paper, I argue (...) that these metamodels employ structures of different natures and epistemologies, and this diversity does pose a serious problem to the intended justification. (shrink)

Lucrarea tratează unul dintre “misterele” filosofiei analitice şi ale raţionalităţii însăşi, anume aplicabilitatea matematicii în ştiinţe şi în investigarea matematică a realităţii înconjurătoare, a cărei filosofie este dezvoltată în jurul sintagmei – de acum paradigmatice – ‘eficacitatea iraţională a matematicii’, aparţinând fizicianului Eugene Wigner, problemă filosofică etichetată în literatură drept “puzzle-ul lui Wigner”. Odată intraţi în profunzimea acestei probleme, investigaţia nu trebuie limitată la căutarea unor răspunsuri explicative la întrebări precum “Ce este de fapt aplicabilitatea matematicii?”, “Cum explicăm prezenţa în (...) natură a conceptelor matematice simple şi complexe?” sau “Cum explicăm rata de succes uriaşă a aplicaţiilor matematice, care presupun modele aproximativ false ale unei realităţi idealizate?”, ci extinsă în plan metateoretic către căutarea unei justificări teoretice a utilizării metodei matematice în practica ştiinţifică, independent de succesul acestei metode. Aceste întrebări şi probleme sunt abordate în detaliu în lucrarea de faţă. Lucrarea, care va continua cu un al doilea titlu, dedicat modelelor teoretice ale aplicabilităţii şi alternativelor structurale ale acestora, se adresează în special – dar nu exclusiv – matematicienilor, fizicienilor, filosofilor ştiinţei, filosofilor limbajului şi epistemologilor, dar şi studenţilor acestor discipline. (shrink)

Over the past two decades, gamblers have begun taking mathematics into account more seriously than ever before. While probability theory is the only rigorous theory modeling the uncertainty, even though in idealized conditions, numerical probabilities are viewed not only as mere mathematical information, but also as a decision-making criterion, especially in gambling. This book presents the mathematics underlying the major games of chance and provides a precise account of the odds associated with all gaming events. It begins by explaining in (...) simple terms the meaning of the concept of probability for the layman and goes on to become an enlightening journey through the mathematics of chance, randomness and risk. It then continues with the basics of discrete probability, combinatorics and counting arguments for those interested in the supporting mathematics. These mathematic sections may be skipped by readers who do not have a minimal background in mathematics; these readers can skip directly to the Guide to Numerical Results to pick the odds and recommendations they need for the desired gaming situation. Doing so is possible due to the organization of that chapter, in which the results are listed at the end of each section, mostly in the form of tables. The chapter titled The Mathematics of Games of Chance presents these games not only as a good application field for probability theory, but also in terms of human actions where probability-based strategies can be tried to achieve favorable results. Through suggestive examples, the reader can see what are the experiments, events and probability fields in games of chance and how probability calculus works there. The main portion of this work is a collection of probability results for each type of game. Each game s section is packed with formulas and tables. Each section also contains a description of the game, a classification of the gaming events and the applicable probability calculations. The primary goal of this work is to allow the reader to quickly find the odds for a specific gaming situation, in order to improve his or her betting/gaming decisions. Every type of gaming event is tabulated in a logical, consistent and comprehensive manner. The complete methodology and complete or partial calculations are shown to teach players how to calculate probability for any situation, for every stage of the game for any game. Here, readers can find the real odds, returned by precise mathematical formulas and not by partial simulations that most software uses. Collections of odds are presented, as well as strategic recommendations based on those odds, where necessary, for each type of gaming situation. The book contains much new and original material that has not been published previously and provides great coverage of probabilities for the following games of chance: Dice, Slots, Roulette, Baccarat, Blackjack, Texas Hold em Poker, Lottery and Sport Bets. Most of games of chance are predisposed to probability-based decisions. This is why the approach is not an exclusively statistical one, but analytical: every gaming event is taken as an individual applied probability problem to solve. A special chapter defines the probability-based strategy and mathematically shows why such strategy is theoretically optimal.". (shrink)

Problemele filosofie sensibile pe care le pune aplicabilitatea matematicii în ştiinţe şi viaţa de zi cu zi au conturat, pe un fond interdisciplinar, o nouă “ramură” a filosofiei ştiinţei, anume filosofia aplicabilităţii matematicii. Aplicarea cu succes a matematicii de-a lungul istoriei ştiinţei necesită reprezentare, încadrare, explicaţie, dar şi o justificare de ordin metateoretic a aplicabilităţii. Între rolurile matematicii în practica ştiinţifică, rolul constitutiv teoriilor ştiinţifice este cel a cărui analiză poate contribui esenţial la această justificare. În lucrarea de faţă, am (...) analizat acest rol constitutiv prin prisma relaţiilor sale cu celelalte roluri importante ale matematicii (descriptiv-semantic-reprezentaţional, inferenţial-explicativ-predictiv), încercând să surprind motivaţia primară a acestui rol relativ la ideea de structură matematică şi epistemică, componente esenţiale ale ştiinţei structurale matematizate. (shrink)

Continuing his series of books on the mathematics of gambling, the author shows how a simple-rule game such as roulette is suited to a complex mathematical model whose applications generate improved betting systems that take into account a player's personal playing criteria. The book is both practical and theoretical, but is mainly devoted to the application of theory. About two-thirds of the content is lists of categories and sub-categories of improved betting systems, along with all the parameters that might stand (...) as the main objective criteria in a personal strategy - odds, profits and losses. The work contains new and original material not published before. The mathematical chapter describes complex bets, the profit function, the equivalence between bets and all their properties. All theoretical results are accompanied by suggestive concrete examples and can be followed by anyone with a minimal mathematical background because they involve only basic algebraic skills and set theory basics. The reader may also choose to skip the math and go directly to the sections containing applications, where he or she can pick desired numerical results from tables. The book offers no new so-called winning strategies, although it discusses them from a mathematical point of view. It does, however, offer improved betting systems and helps to organize a player's choices in roulette betting, according to mathematical facts and personal strategies. It is a must-have roulette handbook to be studied before placing your bets on the turn of either a European or American roulette wheel. (shrink)

A complete probability guide of Hold'em Poker, this guide covers all possible gaming situations. The author focuses on the practical side of the presentation and use of the probabilities involved in Hold'em, while taking into account the subjective side of the probability-based criteria of each player's strategy.

This eighth book of the author on gambling math presents in accessible terms the cold mathematics behind the sparkling slot machines, either physical or virtual. It contains all the mathematical facts grounding the configuration, functionality, outcome, and profits of the slot games. Therefore, it is not a so-called how-to-win book, but a complete, rigorous mathematical guide for the slot player and also for game producers, being unique in this respect. As it is primarily addressed to the slot player, its goal (...) is to present practical applications of the mathematical models of slot games, in order to provide numerical results that a player can use as criteria for gaming decisions or just as information for any slot game and any predicted winning event. These results are focused on probability and expected value, these being the most important parameters for decisional criteria in slots. The book is packed with plenty of figures, tables, and formulas. The content is organized so that readers can skip the theoretical parts and go picking the practical results (numerical, in tables of values where possible, or ready-to-compute formulas) for the desired situation. The practical results are gathered in the last chapter, titled "Practical Applications and Numerical Results," the largest part of the book, for the most popular categories of slot machines, namely with 3, 5, 9, and 16 reels. Any other category of slot games is covered in the theoretical part of the book, where the general formulas apply not only to existing slot games, but also to possible future slot games of any design and configuration. The author does not just throw the slot mathematics to the audience and run away, but offers an ultimate practical contribution with the chapter "How to estimate the number of stops and the symbol distribution on a reel", a surprise for both players and producers, where one can see that mathematics provides players with some statistical methods as well as methods based on physical measurements for retrieving these missing data. Having these data along with the mathematical results of this book, anyone can generate the PAR sheet of any slot machine. In the last decade, mathematics has been taken more and more seriously into account in gaming, as being the essence that governs the games of chance and the only rigorous tool providing information on optimal play, where possible. For the popular game of slots, mathematics already fulfilled its duty by providing all the data that it can provide and that cannot be found on the display of the slot machines - it is all here in this book. (shrink)

This work is a complete mathematical guide to lottery games, covering all of the problems related to probability, combinatorics, and all parameters describing the lottery matrices, as well as the various playing systems. The mathematics sections describe the mathematical model of the lottery, which is in fact the essence of the lotto game. The applications of this model provide players with all the mathematical data regarding the parameters attached to the gaming events and personal playing systems. By applying these data, (...) one can find all the winning probabilities for the play with one line, and how these probabilities change with playing the various types of systems containing several lines, depending on their structure. Also, each playing system has a formula attached that provides the number of possible multiple prizes in various circumstances. Other mathematical parameters of the playing systems and the correlations between them are also presented. The generality of the mathematical model and of the obtained formulas allows their application for any existent lottery and any playing system. Each formula is followed by numerical results covering the most frequent lottery matrices worldwide and by multiple examples predominantly belonging to the 6/49 lottery. The listing of the numerical results in dozens of well-organized tables, along with instructions and examples of using them, makes possible the direct usage of this guide by players without a mathematical background. The author also discusses from a mathematical point of view the strategies of choosing involved in the lotto game. The book does not offer so-called winning strategies, but helps players to better organize their own playing systems and to confront their own convictions with the incontestable reality offered by the direct applications of the mathematical model of the lotto game. As a must-have handbook for any lottery player, this book offers essential information about the game itself and can provide the basis for gaming decisions of any kind. (shrink)

This book presents not only the mathematical concept of probability, but also its philosophical aspects, the relativity of probability and its applications and even the psychology of probability. All explanations are made in a comprehensible manner and are supported with suggestive examples from nature and daily life, and even with challenging math paradoxes.

Scientific journal presented by Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University, Ukraine, Melitopol. Main points: 1. Actual Problems of Modern Philosophy 2. Researches in Philosophy connected with natural components, sociological aspects and self - identity development.

Samuel Lebens and Tyron Goldschmidt provided original theodicies, which suggest that at one time God will change the past, either by erasing/substituting the sins of humans or erasing the whole entirety of evils. Both theodicies imply the idea that God can completely change the past without leaving any traces. In this paper, I argue that Lebens’ and Goldschmidt’s preferred model, which they call the scene-changing theory, is problematic. First, its complex metaphysical foundation could be replaced with presentism (roughly, the view (...) in the ontology of time that only present things exist) without losing any substantial heuristics. Second, their theory either implies a controversial theory of truthmaking under presentistic and hyper-presentistic ontology or implies controversial views on the counting of events under presentistic and hyper-presentistic ontology. Thirdly, I will argue that any theory of elimination/substitution of evils of the past implies that there are unnecessary evils, which is inconsistent with God’s goodness. (shrink)

The purpose of this paper is to show that images have an ontological support by which they obtain an independent existence from the mind. In accordance with the new theories of aesthetics, we will see that the object of art is taken as an object of thought. Image has an important role in the existence of the work of art; therefore the image becomes an object of thought. To show how the image is independent from the mind or to show (...) how it is not a mind-dependent object, the analysis has to start from the pre-ontological level of the work of art in order to understand the existence of images in correlation with the work of art. At the beginning there is only the object. The object is the work of art before its concretization. It is not nature; it is the natural support of art. From this point of view, the role of the image can be explored in all ontological stages of the work of art. Firstly, it can be argued that the intuition of the artist is the image of the idea underlying the work of art. The intentional image is a subjective image. Secondly, it seems that people can see or have in mind different images (representations) referring to a work of art. This is possible in time and space and implies cultural differences, historical events and so on. A question arises: what supports the intentional image? One answer put forward is that the mind is the support of the image, but it seems that the original intentional image has something that can make other intentional images possible, an infinite number of representations, in other words an infinite number of images. The aim of this paper is to show that we can talk about an original intentional image (the first idea), intentional images (the representations of the work of art in time and space), and the transcendental image which can be defined as the ontological condition for the existence of the intentional image. At the end I will argue that the transcendental image is the support or the entity which offers the ontological conditions necessary for all intentional images. -/- Tags: intentional image, transcendental image, ontology, object and subjectivity. (shrink)

This article highlights the underlying themes or leitmotifs of anti-Ukrainian war propaganda that resonate in the Romanian media sphere. Utilizing the method of thematic analysis, we dissect the messages related to the war in Ukraine that have been disseminated in mass media and social media. Our research, which is primarily descriptive, focuses on the content of the messages, not their authors’ personal, financial, or ideological motivations. To achieve our research goal, we will present the essential features of propaganda messages and (...) apply the thematic analysis method to anti-Ukrainian messages written in Romanian and posted on the Internet after the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army (February 24, 2022). Our commitment to objectivity ensures the credibility of our findings. (shrink)

Sexual perversion is to be defined as sexual behavior that is not practiced by the clear majority of humans in a given culture that is differentiated from sexual exploration by the reoccurrence of the behavior, the extremity of the deviation, and the harm resultant from the performance of the perversion. It is recognized when a certain individual expresses certain sexual desires or urges that are uncommon, unrelated to typical sexual interactions, and/or are somehow outside the two categories entirely. Perversions are (...) many and varied, diverse in their characteristics – varying from sexual attitudes towards non-sexual objects, to frotteurism, transvestitism, and voyeurism. (shrink)

The article examines the participation and assistance of the Orthodox Church in solving problems that allowed to give a scientific justification for the cooperation of health care and Orthodox religious institutions, to determine their role in the historical context and structure of modern healthcare in Russia. The article presents an algorithm for organizing sisters of mercy, their system of upbringing. Particular attention is given to the possibility of teaching the course "Foundations of Orthodox Culture" in secular educational institutions. -/- Research (...) materials can serve as a basis for the formation of morally sound positions of medical workers and the population on the main problems of medical activity. -/- Based on the study, the authors published a series of articles in which the experience of the work of the Orthodox Church in the charitable sphere has been summarized. This experience can be used to create new charitable institutions, including those who provided medical assistance. -/- In preparing the article, the authors used concrete historical, civilizational, formational and social methods of research that allowed us to uncover facts, phenomena and processes in the interconnection and unity of the past, present and future. (shrink)

The article outlines the key areas of the charitable and educational activities of the Orthodox Church, which are analyzed during religious reforms in the 19th and early 20th centuries. in Russia. It is shown that at that time the scale of charity aid and the responsibilities of charitable organizations increased; the control over the distribution of aid has improved, the role of the Church in the social protection of the population has increased. The conclusions made in the article allow us (...) to look at a holistic picture of the Church's activities in providing the educational process in Russian church schools during the period under study. It turned out that the concrete activity of the clergy, which was impossible without the proper level of education, placed the clergy in the most literate category of the population. It is the priests, in the absence of a developed education system in Russia, began to introduce primary public education. This article helps to understand and systematize the position of the Church as a spiritual and moral institution that preserves Russia's cultural heritage. Of particular importance is the regional nature of the topic under study, which makes it possible to understand the general and specific relations between the Church and the state. For the international community, the article will be useful as an archival exhibition, which is a rare publication that reveals the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the state in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries. (shrink)

Technologies currently have a tremendous impact on all spheres of economy, business and a state. They integrally change people’s conception of trade, property, and market entities interaction. Artificial intelligence, additive, informationommunication, green technologies, biotechnologies, and blockchain technologies development and implementation confirm their leadership importance and inevitability in relation to the activities traditional approaches. In the modern world only the companies with flexible vision, equipment and technologies able to instantly reform, adapt to new conditions and challenges, will benefit. The point at (...) issue is Industry 4.0 as a new technological mode emergence. (shrink)

This tenth volume of Collected Papers includes 86 papers in English and Spanish languages comprising 972 pages, written between 2014-2022 by the author alone or in collaboration with the following 105 co-authors (alphabetically ordered) from 26 countries: Abu Sufian, Ali Hassan, Ali Safaa Sadiq, Anirudha Ghosh, Assia Bakali, Atiqe Ur Rahman, Laura Bogdan, Willem K.M. Brauers, Erick González Caballero, Fausto Cavallaro, Gavrilă Calefariu, T. Chalapathi, Victor Christianto, Mihaela Colhon, Sergiu Boris Cononovici, Mamoni Dhar, Irfan Deli, Rebeca Escobar-Jara, Alexandru Gal, (...) N. Gandotra, Sudipta Gayen, Vassilis C. Gerogiannis, Noel Batista Hernández, Hongnian Yu, Hongbo Wang, Mihaiela Iliescu, F. Nirmala Irudayam, Sripati Jha, Darjan Karabašević, T. Katican, Bakhtawar Ali Khan, Hina Khan, Volodymyr Krasnoholovets, R. Kiran Kumar, Manoranjan Kumar Singh, Ranjan Kumar, M. Lathamaheswari, Yasar Mahmood, Nivetha Martin, Adrian Mărgean, Octavian Melinte, Mingcong Deng, Marcel Migdalovici, Monika Moga, Sana Moin, Mohamed Abdel-Basset, Mohamed Elhoseny, Rehab Mohamed, Mohamed Talea, Kalyan Mondal, Muhammad Aslam, Muhammad Aslam Malik, Muhammad Ihsan, Muhammad Naveed Jafar, Muhammad Rayees Ahmad, Muhammad Saeed, Muhammad Saqlain, Muhammad Shabir, Mujahid Abbas, Mumtaz Ali, Radu I. Munteanu, Ghulam Murtaza, Munazza Naz, Tahsin Oner, ‪Gabrijela Popović‬‬‬‬‬, Surapati Pramanik, R. Priya, S.P. Priyadharshini, Midha Qayyum, Quang-Thinh Bui, Shazia Rana, Akbara Rezaei, Jesús Estupiñán Ricardo, Rıdvan Sahin, Saeeda Mirvakili, Said Broumi, A. A. Salama, Flavius Aurelian Sârbu, Ganeshsree Selvachandran, Javid Shabbir, Shio Gai Quek, Son Hoang Le, Florentin Smarandache, Dragiša Stanujkić, S. Sudha, Taha Yasin Ozturk, Zaigham Tahir, The Houw Iong, Ayse Topal, Alptekin Ulutaș, Maikel Yelandi Leyva Vázquez, Rizha Vitania, Luige Vlădăreanu, Victor Vlădăreanu, Ștefan Vlăduțescu, J. Vimala, Dan Valeriu Voinea, Adem Yolcu, Yongfei Feng, Abd El-Nasser H. Zaied, Edmundas Kazimieras Zavadskas.‬‬. (shrink)

This volum includes 37 papers of mathematics or applied mathematics written by the author alone or in collaboration with the following co-authors: Cătălin Barbu, Mihály Bencze, Octavian Cira, Marian Niţu, Ion Pătraşcu, Mircea E. Şelariu, Rajan Alex, Xingsen Li, Tudor Păroiu, Luige Vlădăreanu, Victor Vlădăreanu, Ştefan Vlăduţescu, Yingjie Tian, Mohd Anasri, Lucian Căpitanu, Valeri Kroumov, Kimihiro Okuyama, Gabriela Tonţ, A. A. Adewara, Manoj K. Chaudhary, Mukesh Kumar, Sachin Malik, Alka Mittal, Neetish Sharma, Rakesh K. Shukla, Ashish K. Singh, Jayant Singh, (...) Rajesh Singh, V.V. Singh, Hansraj Yadav, Amit Bhaghel, Dipti Chauhan, V. Christianto, Priti Singh, and Dmitri Rabounski. (shrink)

A book review of 'Mindvaults. Sociocultural Grounds for Pretending and Imaginining' by Radu J. Bogdan.

Revista Intelligence Info este o publicație trimestrială din domeniile intelligence, geopolitică și securitate, și domenii conexe de studiu și practică. -/- Cuprins: -/- EDITORIALE / EDITORIALS -/- Tiberiu TĂNASE Considerații privind necesitatea educării și formării resursei umane pentru intelligence–ul național Considerations regarding the need to educate and train human resources for national intelligence Nicolae SFETCU Epistemologia activității de intelligence Epistemology of intelligence Nicolae SFETCU Rolul serviciilor de informații în război The role of the intelligence agencies in a war Nicolae SFETCU (...) Evoluția inteligenței artificiale în domeniul securității naționale The evolution of artificial intelligence in the field of national security -/- INTELLIGENCE / INTELLIGENCE -/- Ovidiu BOUREANU O scurtă istorie a spionajului: spionajul modern de la Războiul Rece la Războiul împotriva terorii A Brief History of the Spy: Modern Spying from the Cold War to the War on Terror Ioana PĂIUȘ, Tiberiu TĂNASE Securitate și informații într-o lume în schimbare Security and intelligence in a changing world Nicolae SFETCU Activitatea de intelligence - Ciclul intelligence Intelligence Activity – Intelligence Cycle Tiberiu TĂNASE Controlul asupra Intelligence –ului Control over Intelligence Tiberiu TĂNASE Informația și nevoia de gestionare a resurselor informaționale Information and the need to manage information resources Tiberiu TĂNASE Controlul parlamentar al serviciilor de informații Parliamentary control of intelligence services Tiberiu TĂNASE Mecanisme de control democratic al activității serviciilor de informații Mechanisms of democratic control of the activity of intelligence agencies Nicolae SFETCU Analiza informațiilor Intelligence Analysis Bogdan-George RĂDULESCU Cum ar trebui să fie utilizată analiza intelligence pentru a contracara războiul cognitiv? How should intelligence analysis be utilized to counter cognitive warfare? -/- ISTORIE / HISTORY -/- Tiberiu TĂNASE Biroul de Informații al Secției Militare din Transilvania și rolul său în campania pentru apărarea României Mari The Intelligence Office of the Transylvanian Military Section and its role in the campaign for the defense of Greater Romania Stan PETRESCU Pacepa, Kuklinski, Pollard și românii Pacepa, Kuklinski, Pollard and the Romanians Tiberiu TĂNASE Contracararea de către SSI a activităților informative și acțiunilor Serviciilor Germane și Sovietice de Informații implicate în evenimentele din 21 - 23 ianuarie 1941 Countering by the SSI of the informational activities and actions of the German and Soviet Intelligence Services involved in the events of January 21-23, 1941 Tiberiu TĂNASE Alexandru Ioan Cuza, fondatorul Intelligence-lui statului modern românesc Alexandru Ioan Cuza, Founder of the Intelligence of the Modern Romanian State Tiberiu TĂNASE, Bogdan MUSCALU Puncte de vedere privind tradițiile romane în istoria intelligence-lui Viewpoints on Roman traditions in history intelligence Tiberiu TĂNASE Istoria Serviciului Român de Informații – serviciu de intelligence competitiv, și strategiile de intelligence History of the Romanian Intelligence Service – competitive intelligence service, and intelligence strategies Rodica LISEANU Reformele serviciilor secrete de la Mihail Moruzov la Eugen Cristescu, între inovație și decadență Secret service reforms from Mihail Moruzov to Eugen Cristescu Rodica LISEANU Take Ionescu – O biografie vectorială în istoria partidelor politice și în semantica diplomației Take Ionescu - A Vectorial Biography in the History of Political Parties and the Semantics of Diplomacy Remus MACOVEI Trădători și trădători Traitors and traitors -/- GEOPOLITICA / GEOPOLITICS -/- Antoaneta AVRAM Pandemia de COVID-19 și consecințele ei în peisajul anului 2022 The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences in the landscape of 2022 Darius-Antoniu FERENȚ, Ioan MANCI Analiza conflictului ruso-cecen din perspectivă militară Analysis of the Russian-Chechen conflict from a military perspective Lisa-Maria ACHIMESCU Apusul universalismului european The decline of European universalism Emilian M. DOBRESCU Hegemonia chineză în producția de pământuri rare Chinese Hegemony in the Production of Rare Earths Ionuț-Daniel GORGOVAN ”Descurajarea integrată”. Analiză asupra strategiei SUA în Pacific "Integrated deterrence". Analysis of US Pacific Strategy Tiberiu TĂNASE, Violeta Ioana NAGÂȚ Conflictul arabo-israelian. Percepții privind cauzele și natura conflictului. Repere istorice și actualitate The Arab-Israeli conflict. Perceptions of the causes and nature of conflict. Historical landmarks and current affairs -/- SECURITATE / SECURITY -/- Tănase TIBERIU Minighid de pregătire și protecție contrainformativă Counterintelligence preparation and protection mini-guide Darius-Antoniu FERENȚ ISIS - Jocul morții - Martiri, asasinate și fascinație The Killing Game - Martyrdom, Murder and the Lure of ISIS Traian OSTAHIE Abordări generale ale conceptului de cultură de securitate For a 21st century realism Dalia Elena SILAGHI Terorismul cibernetic: o formă contemporană de terorism Cyber Terrorism: A Contemporary Form of Terrorism Paul Alexandru HELER Conflictul asimetric și consecințele sale în securitatea Asiei Asymmetric Conflict and Its Consequences in Asian Security Daria-Maria TÂRNĂVEAN Confruntarea informațională și repercusiunile sale asupra mediului actual de securitate The Information Confrontation and its Repercussions on the Current Security Environment Darius-Antoniu FERENȚ Analiza atacurilor cibernetice, precum APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) și ransomware Analysis of cyber attacks such as APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) and ransomware Daniela Georgiana GOLEA, Oana Ștefania COȘA Nevoia de adaptare managerială a noilor probleme de securitate modernă The need for managerial adaptation to new modern security issues Darius-Antoniu FERENȚ, Corneliu PREJA Implicarea NATO în domeniul apărării cibernetice NATO's involvement in cyber defence Alexandru CRISTIAN Paradigme în mediul internațional de securitate Paradigms in the international security environment Alexandru CRISTIAN Schimbarea paradigmelor în mediul internațional de securitate Changing paradigms in the international security environment Dan D. FARCAȘ Adevăr și dezinformare în fenomenul OZN Truth and disinformation in the UFO phenomenon Alexandru CRISTIAN Un nou mediu de securitate A new security environment -/- ȘTIINȚA INFORMAȚIEI / INFORMATION SCIENCE -/- Oana Ștefania COȘA Rolul structurilor de intelligence medical în atingerea obiectivul de consolidare a sistemului de sănătate The role of medical intelligence structures in achieving the objective of strengthening the health system Nicolae SFETCU Preocupări legislative în mineritul datelor Legislative concerns in data mining Nicolae SFETCU Utilizarea analiticii rețelelor sociale în intelligence Using social network analytics in intelligence Nicolae SFETCU Ingineria cunoașterii în colectarea informațiilor Knowledge Engineering in Intelligence Gathering -/- ISSN 2971 – 9089 ISSN-L 2821 – 8159, DOI: 10.58679/II26972. (shrink)

Revista IT & C este o publicație trimestrială din domeniile tehnologiei informației și comunicații, și domenii conexe de studiu și practică. -/- Cuprins: -/- EDITORIAL Cu sau fără Internet?, de Nicolae Sfetcu Supremația tehnologiilor IT&C, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- TEHNOLOGIA INFORMAȚIEI Tehnologia blockchain, de Nicolae Sfetcu Ciclul de viață al inteligenței artificiale, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- TELECOMUNICAȚII Rețelele de comunicații 5G, de Nicolae Sfetcu Proiectarea și arhitectura rețelelor de comunicații 5G, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- INTERNET Megadatele (Big Data) pe Internet, (...) de Nicolae Sfetcu Cum funcționează Internetul, de Michael Mendez -/- SOFTWARE Deschideți / Creați o imagine în Adobe Photoshop, de Nicolae Sfetcu Excel: Comenzi rapide și formatare de bază, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- PROGRAMARE Utilizarea limbajului de programare R în știința datelor cu RStudio, de Rafael A. Irizarry Tipuri de date atomice în Python, de Stephen Davies -/- DEZVOLTARE WEB Servere web, de Michael Mendez Variabile în dezvoltarea WordPress, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- SECURITATE CIBERNETICĂ Securitatea informațiilor în lucrul cu megadate pe Internet, de Nicolae Sfetcu Securitatea Big Data: Amenințări, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- AFACERI ONLINE Proiectarea și modelarea tehnologiei blockchain – Bitcoin, de Nicolae Sfetcu Marketing de conţinut, de Nicolae Sfetcu -/- MEDIA Analitica rețelelor sociale, de Nicolae Sfetcu Cercetare și aplicații în rețelele sociale, de Bogdan Batrinca și Philip C Treleaven -/- ISSN 2971 – 9097 ISSN-L 2821 – 8469, DOI: 10.58679/IT89910. (shrink)