Algorithms to live by : the computer science of human decisions / Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths

By:

Christian, Brain

Contributor(s):

Griffiths, Tom

Material type: Text

TextPublication details: New York : Picador, c2016Description: xii, 351 pages ; 24 cmISBN:

9781250118363

Subject(s):

LOC classification:

BF 39 .C75 2016

Contents:

Introduction -- 1. Optimal stopping -- 2. Explore/Exploit -- 3. Sorting -- 4. Caching -- 5. Scheduling -- 6. Bayes's Rule -- 7. Overfitting --8. Relaxation -- 9. Randomness -- 10. Networking -- 11. Game theory -- Conclusion -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Acknowledgements -- Index

Summary: 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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Holdings
Item type	Current library	Collection	Call number	Materials specified	Status	Date due	Barcode
Books	NU Clark Circulation	Non-fiction	GC BF 39 .C75 2016 (Browse shelf(Opens below))		Available		NUCLA000002834

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Includes index and bibliographical references.

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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