On Bayes' theorem and the inverse Bernoulli theorem

A recent assertion by S. M. Stigler that Thomas Bayes was perhaps anticipated in the discovery of the result that today bears his name is exposed to further scrutiny here. The distinction between Bayes' theorem and the inverse Bernoulli theorem is examined, and pertinent early writings on this matter are discussed. A careful examination of the difference between these two theorems leads to the conclusion that a result given by David Hartley in 1749 is more in line with the inverse Bernoulli theorem than with Bayes' result, and it is suggested that there is not sufficient evidence to remove Bayes from his place as originator of the method adopted.     

On the Glivenko-Cantelli theorem

Summary Various generalizations of the classical Glivenko-Cantelli theorem are proved. In particular, we have strived for as general results as possible for theoretical distributions on euclidean spaces, which are absolutely continuous with respect to Lebesgue measure.     

On the disk theorem

We construct an example of a 2-dimensional Stein normal space X with one singular point x ₀ such that X\{x ₀} is simply connected and it satisfies the disk condition. This answers a question raised by Forn?ss and Narasimhan. We also prove that any increasing union of Stein open sets contained in a Stein space of dimension 2 satisfies the disk condition. Starting from the above example we exhibit, without using deformation theory, a new type of 2-dimensional holes which cannot be filled.     

On the Jung-Abhyankar theorem

We give a new proof of the Jung-Abhyankar theorem: Let an algebraically closed field of characteristic 0, be a Weierstraß polynomial with discriminant where U is a unit; then its roots are fractionary power series. Received: 17 December 1999     

On the Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem

The Alexander-Hirschowitz theorem says that a general collection of k double points in imposes independent conditions on homogeneous polynomials of degree d with a well-known list of exceptions. Alexander and Hirschowitz completed its proof in 1995, solving a long standing classical problem, connected with the Waring problem for polynomials. We expose a self-contained proof based mainly on the previous works by Terracini, Hirschowitz, Alexander and Chandler, with a few simplifications. We claim originality only in the case d=3, where our proof is shorter. We end with an account of the history of the work on this problem.     

On the Kurosh theorem

We introduce the concept of a projective family of subgroups, which behaves well under passage to subgroups, and then relate it to the notion of a wreath product. This does indeed deliver a new proof of the Kurosh theorem on subgroups of a free product, in which use is actually made of just categorical properties of a free product—all earlier proofs had a combinatorial bearing. Translated fromAlgebra i Logika, Vol. 37, No. 4, pp. 381–393, July–August, 1998.     

On the Bartle-Graves theorem

The Bartle-Graves theorem extends the Banach open mapping principle to a family of linear and bounded mappings, thus showing that surjectivity of each member of the family is equivalent to the openness of the whole family. In this paper we place this theorem in the perspective of recent concepts and results, and present a general Bartle-Graves theorem for set-valued mappings. As applications, we obtain versions of this theorem for mappings defined by systems of inequalities, and for monotone variational inequalities.

     

On the pontryagin-steenrod-wu theorem

We present a short and direct proof (based on the Pontryagin-Thom construction) of the following Pontryagin-Steenrod-Wu theorem: (a) LetM be a connected orientable closed smooth (n + 1)-manifold,n≥3. Define the degree map deg: π ⁿ (M) →H ⁿ (M; ℤ) by the formula degf =f*[S ⁿ ], where [S ⁿ ] εH ⁿ (M; ℤ) is the fundamental class. The degree map is bijective, if there existsβ εH ₂(M, ℤ/2ℤ) such thatβ ·w ₂(M) ε 0. If suchβ does not exist, then deg is a 2-1 map; and (b) LetM be an orientable closed smooth (n+2)-manifold,n≥3. An elementα lies in the image of the degree map if and only ifρ ₂ α ·w ₂(M)=0, whereρ ₂: ℤ → ℤ/2ℤ is reduction modulo 2.