An Anniversary for Bernoulli's Ars Conjectandi

摘要

The year 2013 marks the tercentenary of the appearance of Jacob (Jacques) Bernoulli's posthumous masterpiece, his Ars Conjectandi, which appeared in 1713, eight years after Bernoulli's death. Jacob was one member of that vast family of Bernoullis in Basel—rather the mathematical equivalent of the large number of Bachs in Leipzig— active at roughly the same time. The author of the Ars Conjectandi was probably the most illustrious member of the family, but he had a close competitor in his younger brother Johann (Jean). There were many others, most notably Daniel, who worked primarily in St. Petersburg, but the family, frugal at coming up with new first names, produced enough Jacobs, Johanns, Nikolauses, Christoffs, and Daniels that it helps to give them the equivalent of subscripts. Henceforth "Bernoulli" here will refer, unless otherwise noted, to Jacob I Bernoulli.