Markov changed the world
For the last article of this year, we are delighted to once again host professor Henk Tijms, with an enlightening introduction to a famous method in probability and stochastics operations research: Markov Chains. Professor Tijms introduces the concepts of transition probabilities, different types of Markov Chains, and some of the fundamental theorems surrounding these concepts, and applies them to a myriad of settings, from Russian roulette to an early version of the Google Search algorithm, to the infamous glass bridge scene in the series Squid Game. Professor Tijms manages to concisely explain how all of these settings are combined through the concept of Markov Chains, clearly showing how invaluable these concepts are in modelling the world around us. The tutorial is a wonderful introduction for those familiar with statistics to Markov Chains, and an interesting read to those already familiar with the concepts, but have not had the pleasure of enjoying professor Tijms’ wonderful examples.
The video to the Squid Game scene can found under this link.
