Pierre-Simon Laplace

Pierre-Simon Laplace (March 23, 1749 - March 5, 1827), French mathematician.

Discoverer of the Laplace transform and Laplace's equation. Believer in causal determinism.

One curious formula for the probability that the sun would rise was given by Laplace. He claimed that this probability was <math>(d+1)/(d+2)</math>, where d is the number of days that the sun has risen in the past. Laplace claimed that this formula applied in all cases where we knew nothing, or where what we did know was swamped by what we didn't.

External links:

• Biography of Pierre-Simon Laplace (http://www-groups.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Mathematicians/Laplace.html)
• Biography of Pierre-Simon Laplace - copy of 1908 text (http://www.maths.tcd.ie/pub/HistMath/People/Laplace/RouseBall/RB_Laplace.html)