Quantifying Counterfactual Military History

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Synopsis

Forces shaping human history are complex, but the course of history is undeniably changed on many occasions by conscious acts. These may be premeditated or responsive, calmly calculated or performed under great pressure. They may also be successful or catastrophic, but how are historians to make such judgements and appeal to evidence in support of their conclusions? Further, and crucially, how exactly are we to distinguish probable unrealized alternatives from improbable ones? This book describes some of the modern statistical techniques that can begin to answer this question, as well as some of the difficulties in doing so. Using simple, wellquantified cases drawn from military history, we claim that statistics can now help us to navigate the near-truths, the envelope around the events with which any meaningful historical analysis must deal, and to quantify the basis of such analysis. Quantifying Counterfactual Military History is intended for a general audience who are interested in learning more about statistical methods both in military history and for wider applications.

Key Features:



This book demonstrates how modern statistical techniques can measure the impact of counterfactual decisions.


It examines the importance of counterfactual reasoning for both modern scholars and historical actors.


It combines historical narrative, mathematical precision and data to create a straightforward presentation of both factual and counterfactual military history.


It provides an original contribution to the debate over the validity and rigour of works of counterfactual history.


It is written in a manner accessible to readers who have no formal training in History or Statistics.

Book details

Series:
ASA-CRC Series on Statistical Reasoning in Science and Society
Author:
Brennen Fagan, Ian Horwood, Niall MacKay, Christopher Price, A. Jamie Wood
ISBN:
9780429948794
Related ISBNs:
9780429488405, 9781138592384, 9781138594524
Publisher:
CRC Press
Pages:
N/A
Reading age:
Not specified
Includes images:
Yes
Date of addition:
2023-09-26
Usage restrictions:
Copyright
Copyright date:
2024
Copyright by:
Taylor & Francis Group, LLC 
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Categories:
Mathematics and Statistics, Nonfiction