Chapter 1 Introduction
1.1 General Context
“the teaching actuarial education thus appears to be stuck in a terminology, if not outdated methods, and it’s hardly surprising, that applications to insurance problems appear to most probabilists to be appear to most probabilists as uninformative, and unworthy of attention. unworthy of the mathematician’s attention”
— Jules Dubourdieu (1952)
1.3 Actuarial risk modeling
“we start practical basis so that we can have the confidence in the theory the confidence in theory that is needed to avoid the scepticism the skepticism that can always be opposed to any attempt any attempt at rational explanation (…) actuaires must unite with a solid theoretical training the critical spirit and prudence required for any activity that is not confined that is not confined to the realm of pure speculation, and that aims to dominate the facts”
— Emil Borel (1950)