The Unfinished Game

Pascal, Fermat, and the Seventeenth-Century Letter that Made the World Modern

Examines a letter written by Blaise Pascal to Pierre de Fermat in 1654 that speaks of probability and numerical values that have had an impact on the modern world with regard to calculating insurance rates, the housing markets, and car safety.

The issue remained intractable until Blaise Pascal wrote to Pierre de Fermat in 1654, outlining a solution to the "unfinished game" problem: how do you divide the pot when players are forced to.