# Introduction to Probability by Blitzstein and Hwang

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/introduction-to-probability/

3 people recommended Introduction to Probability by Blitzstein and Hwang in Hacker News comments and none criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 12 months, in 2 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

2 of the 3 people who recommend it commented in one thread, “Mathematics: Its Content, Methods and Meaning”.

**Verdict:** Recommended by a few readers as a probability text that fits what they were looking for, with one calling it a notable exception.

Summary written by Claude from 3 comments.

## Why people recommend it

- Fits what readers were looking for (2 comments in the sample): "it feels a lot like what you're referring to" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48749737)) "sounds a exactly what I'm looking for" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48757824))
- Seen as a notable exception (1 comment in the sample): "Blitzstein being a notable exception" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49583759))

## Other probability textbooks people recommend

- [Statistical Rethinking by Richard McElreath](https://hackerapproved.com/p/statistical-rethinking/): 8 recommend, 2 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Think Bayes by Allen Downey](https://hackerapproved.com/p/think-bayes/): 4 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [The Elements of Statistical Learning by Hastie, Tibshirani and Friedman](https://hackerapproved.com/p/elements-of-statistical-learning/): 2 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Probability Theory: The Logic of Science by Jaynes](https://hackerapproved.com/p/probability-theory-the-logic-of-science/): 2 recommend, 1 mixed, 0 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Introduction to Probability by Blitzstein and Hwang", https://hackerapproved.com/p/introduction-to-probability/ (3 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.