Science and Technology

Following Academician Kolmogorov's initial statement over his signature, the rest of the article is a popularized version of a report prepared for a graduate seminar of the Mechanics and Mathematics Department of Moscow State University. The popularization was prepared by the editors of the magazine Tekhnika Molodyozhi (Technique for the Youth) in conjunction with Kolmogorov's colleague from the University's Laboratory of Probability and Statistical Methods, N. G. Rychkova. Tekhnika Molodyozhi, 1961, Nos. 10-11; slightly abridged.