A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favorites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but ...
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A fascinating exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives, helping to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind All our lives are constrained by limited space and time, limits that give rise to a particular set of problems. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of new activities and familiar favorites is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not: computers, too, face the same constraints, so computer scientists have been grappling with their version of such problems for decades. And the solutions they've found have much to teach us. In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, acclaimed author Brian Christian (who holds degrees in computer science, philosophy, and poetry, and works at the intersection of all three) and Tom Griffiths (a UC Berkeley professor of cognitive science and psychology) show how the simple, precise algorithms used by computers can also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organizing one's inbox to understanding the workings of human memory, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.
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Add this copy of Algorithms to Live By: the Computer Science of Human to cart. $41.52, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2017 by Brilliance Audio.
So I haven't quite finished reading the book, yet -- I'm on chapter 3. And so far the discussion of the algorithms is very accessible and good. The one thing I miss about it is its limited focus. For example (partial spoiler), the "secretary problem" (where you are trying to hire somebody and are tasked to select the best candidate sequentially out of some fixed number) is only analyzed assuming it is a fixed problem. Maybe the real solution is to simply put out a better ad. Also, how do you even define the "best" candidate? No guarantee that job seekers are sortable like that, and quite likely that any of the top few will do a great job. I wish the book would go more into or at least mention such obvious pitfalls.
Edgar
Apr 28, 2016
Human Algorithmic Design...Wow!
A wonderfully readable book, with clever humor throughout, on an otherwise substantial subject. Christian and Griffiths have explored an array of the key concepts and processes utilized in the fields of computer science and cognitive science, which have analogs to the kinds of decision making people deal with day-to-day. They call this 'Human Algorithmic Design'. I particularly liked the chapters on 'Explore / Exploit' and 'Randomness'. Liked the whole book.
