Algorithms to Live By

The Computer Science of Human Decisions

By: Brian Christian, Tom Griffiths

Narrated by: Brian Christian

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.

fantastic! Applications in many corners of life

since embarking on the complexity and simplicity of writing code myself I have wondered about the application of those ideas to writing legislation, decision making and what I'd call optimal morality. this book goes satisfying down these roads with appropriate detail.

Not Computer Science or AI

What did you like best about Algorithms to Live By? What did you like least?

This book has nothing to do with Computer Science. Honestly hope I never find an application built on this logic.

Would you be willing to try another book from Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths ? Why or why not?

not likely

Which scene was your favorite?

Still looking for it

Could you see Algorithms to Live By being made into a movie or a TV series? Who should the stars be?

No

Any additional comments?

The title is misleading

great book

loved it. great ideas. the author nails expectations and the mathematical component of them, howsoever implicit.

Not to bad

Great for the minds of computer scientists. I was lost in many spots. There were plenty of algorithms that would help just a tad overwhelming.

Interesting content

For moments the content gets a bit too technical, though thats the goal, I gets harder to follow in audible version.