Math plays odds with peanuts and Crackerjacks
Ken Ross aims to make probability a relevant baseball
concept in his book, A Mathematician at the Ballpark'
ALLISON PARKER
FREELANCE REPORTER
Although his daughters prefer the
Mariners, “Deep down I’m a tradi
tionalist who prefers most of the
National League teams,” said Ken
Ross, author of “A Mathematician
At the Ballpark: Odds and Probabili
ties for Baseball Fans.”
Ross, a former University math
professor of 35 years, spoke at the
University Bookstore Thursday
about his latest book.
“A Mathematician At the
Ballpark” is for a wide audience
from “eager 12-year-olds” to their
grandparents, Ross said.
The book was an exciting release,
said Brian Juenemann, the event or
ganizer at the University Bookstore.
Juenemann must pick one to two
University professors each academic
term for whom to sponsor an event
or book reading.
“I try to promote less academic
books” in order to create more stu
dent interest than a textbook format
might, Juenemann said.
Ross’ book came out just as base
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ball season began this year, which
spiked Juenemann’s interest when
picking his choice for the term.
With na
tionwide in
terest in the
playoffs, it
seems Ross
couldn’t
have picked
a better
time to
speak about baseball at the Univer
sity campus.
The book concentrates on base
ball and probability — two of Ross’
biggest interests. “Doing probability
with odds would be like doing mul
tiplication with Roman numerals,”
Ross said. That is where his book
comes in. Given that odds only
make sense in gambling settings,
Ross hopes to bring probability and
odds together and make them more
relevant as mathematical objects.
Ross said he put most of his ener
gy into making the book “accessible
and friendly.”
“My purpose was definitely to
communicate with baseball fans
about the
language
and ideas
of odds and
probabili
ty,” Ross
said, al
though it
has also ap
pealed to colleagues and students
who use Ross’ book in various math
classes. .
Ross first began combining the
all-American sport of baseball with
his mathematical career in 2000,
when he held a freshman seminar
called “Statistics and Mathematics
of Baseball.” Ross’ class not only
had an emphasis on methods from
the theory of statistics, but it also
studied batting averages, streaks
and other records in baseball
history.
It wasn’t until Ross taught this
course that he began finding “all
kinds of books and articles on the
subject.”
Ross earned his B.S. and M S. at
the University of Utah then received
his Ph.D. from the University of
Washington two years later. After
teaching for 35 years, he retired
from the University of Oregon in the
spring of 2000.
The Pacific Northwest Section of
the Mathematical Association of
America honored Ross with the
fourth sectional Certificate for Meri
torious Service. He also serves as
chair of the Cams Monographs Edi
torial Board and was chair of the
President’s Task Force on the NCTM
Standards.
He has co-authored both volumes
of “Abstract Harmonic Analysis,” re
cently reprinted by Springer-Verlag.
“A Mathematician at the Ballpark”
was published by Pi Press.
Allison Parker is a freelance
reporter for the Daily Emerald
“Doing probability with odds
would be like doing multiplication
with Roman numerals. ”
Ken Ross | former University math professor
Journalist: Many Israelis support Bush
Continued from page 8A
because he has recognized that
holding on to Gaza is counterpro
ductive,” he said.
As he discussed the disengage
ment plan, Wohlgelernter reminded
the audience of the “human cost”
for displaced Israeli families. He
also outlined the financial cost, now
estimated to be between $1.5 billion
and $2 billion dollars. He did not
comment on the cost to Palestinians
of a continuing Israeli presence.
“He did not look at the conflict
from a Palestinian point of view, nor
did I expect him to,” said Shlomo
Libeskind, a professor of mathemat
ics who attended the talk.
Near the end of the evening,
Wohlgelernter turned to the ques
tion of the influence of the U.S. elec
tion on Israeli affairs. While he said
the internal politics of Israel were
more important than any Washing
ton influence, he also commented
on the Israeli public opinion of the
election.
“A majority of Israelis believe
Bush is the greatest leader in U.S.
history,” Wohlgelernter said. He at
tributed this strong support to
Bush’s continuing support of
Sharon and his refusal to meet with
Yassir Arafat, a pariah even to liber
al Israelis.
Frank agrees that most Israelis
support Bush. However, he believes
a John Kerry presidency would hold
more promise for the peace process.
“1 hope he can take a more Clin
tonesque approach,” said Frank.
“It’s in Israel’s self-interest to have
an administration that would take a
more even-handed approach.”
While Israeli politics remain un
predictable and often confusing, au
dience members at Wednesday’s
talk remained cautiously optimistic.
“The future of Israel I have no
doubt about,'” said Libeskind. “It’s
the future of peace that is uncer
tain.”
Thomas Munro is a freelance
reporter for the Daily Emerald
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