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Author Christian, Brian, 1984- author.

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

Publication Info. New York : Henry Holt and Company, 2016.

Copies

Location Call No. Status
 Canton Public Library - Adult Department  153.43 CHRISTIAN    Check Shelf
 East Hartford, Raymond Library - Adult Department  153.43 CHRISTIAN    Lost and Paid
 Middletown, Russell Library - NEW Adult Nonfiction  153.43 CHR    DUE 05-04-24
 South Windsor Public Library - Non Fiction  153.43 CHRISTIAN    Check Shelf
 West Hartford, Noah Webster Library - Non Fiction  153.43 CHRISTIAN    Check Shelf
Edition First international edition.
Description x, 351 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 263-334) and index.
Summary A fascinating exploration of how insights from 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 issues for decades. And the solutions they've found have much to teach us. In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, acclaimed author Brian Christian and cognitive scientist Tom Griffiths show how the 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 memory, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.--From dust jacket.
Contents Optimal stopping : when to stop looking -- Explore/exploit : the latest vs. the greatest -- Sorting : making order -- Caching : forget about it -- Scheduling : first things first -- Bayes's Rule : predicting the future -- Overfitting : when to think less -- Relaxation : let it slide -- Randomness : when to leave it to chance -- Networking : how we connect -- Game theory : the minds of others -- Conclusion: Computational kindness.
Language Text in English.
Subject Human behavior -- Mathematical models.
Problem solving -- Mathematics.
Computer simulation.
Computer algorithms.
Computer algorithms. (OCoLC)fst00872010
Computer simulation. (OCoLC)fst00872518
Human behavior -- Mathematical models. (OCoLC)fst00962819
Problem solving -- Mathematics. (OCoLC)fst01077904
Verhalten (DE-588)4062860-7
Computersimulation (DE-588)4148259-1
Mathematisches Modell (DE-588)4114528-8
Added Author Griffiths, Tom, 1978-
Added Title Computer science of human decisions
ISBN 9781627790369 (hardcover)
1627790365 (hardcover)
9781250118363 (paperback)
1250118360 (paperback)
9781627798983 (paperback)
1627798986 (paperback)
9781627790376 (electronic book)
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