The history of probability and statistics begins with gambling. In the 17th and 18th centuries, gaming was a large part of what the rich did at night, and cards and wagering was a pivotal activity in society.

Brilliant French mathematician, Blaise Pascal, was essentially funded to try and understand the laws of chance so his rich patrons might get an edge. He dreamt up the idea of probability, which led onto statistics and the rest, as the clich� goes, is history.

In the stock market, the leading theory of how markets work is called the 'efficient market' hypothesis.