Algorithms to Live By
The Computer Science of Human Decisions
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Algorithms to Live By
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Narrated by:
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Brian Christian
About this listen
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.
©2016 Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.Listeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about Algorithms to Live By
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- AR Mijinyawa
- 08-12-18
Simply delightful
Fantastic listen. Lot's of concepts to digest but you'll find at least one useful and useful in your everyday being. The simplicity of the rendition and linkage to everyday life means you don't even need a college education to follow this and learn a thing or two about life.
It made me reflect on how we all have a tendency to be sure or certain of things that are far from certain, in a world that is so much more complicated than we could imagine.
From choosing a spouse to sorting out our wardrobes, the book links human cognition and intuition to mathematically proven concepts while admitting the limitations of many so-called intellectual truths that we hold.
In the end, it says, to me at least: "don't grieve about the past, learn from it; don't worry about the future, make the best preparations you can for it and in between, just be yourself".
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44 people found this helpful
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- Mr. P
- 02-12-16
brilliant!
A fascinating topic with lessons for everyday life and complex ideas were presented elegantly and clearly. one of my favourite audible books. Explore or exploit? Optimising decision making. How to design better outcomes are just a few of the ideas explored.
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5 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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- MiniBird
- 11-09-21
Interesting ... but not as an audio book
The content was interesting but I think I would prefer a book so that I could browse chapters and mark pages
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Amazon Customer
- 29-05-19
Some really good thought provocation
Although the narrator was a bit dry, the background and topics were interesting and informative.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- R.M
- 07-04-19
ok but far too much information
not bad audio book. so much information and different algorithms youd need to listen to this book about 30 times to learn then imo.
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- Elliot Blackburn
- 09-08-18
Wonderful and engaging read
Really interesting read as a computer scientist / software engineer. I even relearned a lot of things!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- A L
- 16-09-18
very interesting
this was a very interesting book to a computer scientist and would recommend it to anyone interested in how common algorithms are used in real life contexts!
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- Luke Barton
- 03-11-17
As a programmer, I loved it
I'm always thinking about optimising my life and the optimisations others make. This book was right up my street.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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- Stephen Atkins
- 27-10-17
mmm math
1 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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- Altimonosaurus
- 02-10-17
Intriguing, sheds light(mathematical focus)
on some of the interesting computer science problems., it's a step by step approach, algorithms, not a bed time story though. whatever floats your boat, I enjoyed it!
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