The Formula

How Algorithms Solve all our Problems…and Create More

By: Luke Dormehl

Narrated by: Daniel Weyman

Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

A fascinating guided tour of the complex, fast-moving, and influential world of algorithms - what they are, why they’re such powerful predictors of human behavior, and where they’re headed next. Algorithms exert an extraordinary level of influence on our everyday lives - from dating websites and financial trading floors, through to online retailing and internet searches - Google's search algorithm is now a more closely guarded commercial secret than the recipe for Coca-Cola. Algorithms follow a series of instructions to solve a problem and will include a strategy to produce the best outcome possible from the options and permutations available. Used by scientists for many years and applied in a very specialized way, they are now increasingly employed to process the vast amounts of data being generated, in investment banks, in the movie industry where they are used to predict success or failure at the box office, and by social scientists and policy makers.

What if everything in life could be reduced to a simple formula? What if numbers were able to tell us which partners we were best matched with - not just in terms of attractiveness, but for a long-term committed marriage? Or if they could say which films would be the biggest hits at the box office, and what changes could be made to those films to make them even more successful? Or even who is likely to commit certain crimes, and when? This may sound like the world of science fiction, but in fact it is just the tip of the iceberg in a world that is increasingly ruled by complex algorithms and neural networks.

In The Formula, Luke Dormehl takes listeners inside the world of numbers, asking how we came to believe in the all-conquering power of algorithms; introducing the mathematicians, artificial intelligence experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are shaping this brave new world, and ultimately asking how we survive in an era where numbers can sometimes seem to create as many problems as they solve.

©2014 Luke Dormehl (P)2014 Gildan Media LLC

Critic reviews

"A persuasive, timely interrogation of one of our age's most dangerous assumptions: that information is the same as understanding, and that everything which counts can be counted." (Tom Chatfield, author of Netymology and How to Thrive in the Digital Age

"This is exactly the type of book we need to be reading as society considers the computerized control of nearly all the systems that affect our lives." (Chris Dannen, Fast Company)

NOT MUCH DEPTH

Somewhat superficial. Could have been covered in a long TED talk. Some of the examples were interesting.

Thought provoking

Very interesting book. Of course one most be a self described geek to enjoy such a title. I highly recommend this book.

Really Interesting stuff

If you're not familiar with computers, you'll still understand this is a fascinating book that considers the far-reaching applications of algorithms. I really enjoyed it and the preformance by Daniel Weyman was top-notch.

Accessibly entertaining

Not technically overwhelming, but entertainingly relatable and relevant, the formula is neither apologist nor damning.
Great listen, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Interesting but I expected more.

I love technology, And intelligens devices. Besides giving interesting examples about algorithms, I felt a lack of a WOW... Something I expected. Nevertheless it was a worthwhile listen which made me look up a few topics and websites.

Intresting but....

Good information about how the world we live in operates. Starts out good because the information is new.. By the end, it is gets pretty dry and repetitive, I thought. Good Listen for $4.00.

Maybe not what you expect

What did you love best about The Formula?

It made me think about how much of our privacy we may be surrendering by not reading and thinking about privacy statements from corporations like Google, Facebook, Microsoft and Amazon. Windows 10, for example, assigns an "Advertising ID" to each user, and harvests information from calendars, apps (including Bing and Yahoo! searches), emails, text messages, phone calls, contacts and browsing history, as well as device location and usage behaviour around music, alarm settings and internet purchases. What they don't know about you can be supplemented by purchasing demographic information from third parties. Catana (Microsoft's Siri) collects your speech pattern data and sends it to Microsoft. Maybe Catana thinks you sound gay, or have traces of some foreign accent, or anything else that a human expert might be able to infer from speech patterns. All of this data collection enables Microsoft and Google to create a pretty complete picture of a person (including age, gender, sexual preference), and to tailor search results accordingly. Typing in a Google search isn't exactly the same as going to the library and collecting your own information - you see what Google or Microsoft thinks you should see.

What does Daniel Weyman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He sounds more intelligent than the voice in my head.

Any additional comments?

It's not really a technical book on algorithms; it's more of a social commentary on the brave new world we're heading into.

Algorithms

I enjoyed this book. Algorithms are mathematical formula that can predict what we like, what we want, and what we need.

This book describes how formulas and algorithms affect our every day life. From what we search, to what advertising as we see. Algorithms and formula are increasingly being used in investing, medical, and social applications.

I enjoyed this book.

Great for an introduction

This book isn't meant to be an in depth study of algorithms, it is merely an explanation of what they are and how they are used currently to quantify our lives. Not the for the hardcore technical person but a great listen for anyone wanting to get a general understanding on the topic.

ok but

The discussion is on the level of literature review -broad and interesting, but not always deep enough. Some of the arguments are simplistic and overstated.