The human mind does not run out of space, storage is unlimited, but the problem is one of organization. We have an infinite capacity for memories, but we have only a finite amount of time in which to search for them.Researchers showed that by accumulating more knowledge, we’re getting slower at accessing it. We’re not forgetting, we’re remembering — we’re becoming archives — which need organization and are hard to access.

The Human Mind

Scheduling is a fundamental productivity problem.School of thoughts:<ul><li>Getting Things Done: immediately do any task of two minutes or less once it comes to mind</li><li>Eat that Frog: beginning with the most difficult task</li><li>The Now Habit: first scheduling social and leisure time then work</li><li>Wait: deliberately not doing things right away.</li></ul>

Scheduling

Too much information, options, and research are harmful. There is wisdom in deliberately thinking less and settling for second-best solutions.

Overfitting

When should you be exploring new options and when should you start settling for the best option you already know? Consider these concepts: <ul><li>Regret Minimisation Framework: When you look back on your life when you’re 80, what will you regret least?</li><li>Exploring: In decision making, we consider the single highest pay-off on our single decision, but in the long term, it’s way more efficient to first explore your options, before exploiting the highest pay-off decision.</li><li>Ageing: Deepest insight about later life is that you can exploit knowledge acquired over decades — life should get better over time.</li></ul>

Explore vs Exploit

Seizing the day and seizing a lifetime are two entirely different endeavors.When balancing favorite experiences and new ones, nothing matters more than the interval over which we plan to enjoy them. The interval makes the strategy.By observing the strategy we can also infer the interval.

Seize The Interval

When you are hiring, scouting houses to buy, options to consider — when should you stop looking?You stop looking too early, you don’t know if someone better isn’t going to come along. You stop too late, you might have passed on the best candidate already.Mathematically — you should stop looking after evaluating 37% of all the options you’re willing to look at. After the 37% option — if anything/anyone comes along who is better than everyone else before you should make the decision.

Optimal Stopping

Is a crucial part of computers, human memory, as well as organizing data or your papers on your desk.<ul><li>Random eviction: is not half bad, as the most important things keep getting back in</li><li>First In, First Out (FIFO): it’s essentially a queue kicking the oldest things out of the memory</li><li>Least Recently Used (LRU): evicting the item that’s gone the longest untouched (so technically a pile of papers on your desk, is an efficient way of organizing paper if you put the latest always on top)</li></ul>Ideally, you have a couple of different caches which are organized by category, so you shorten the path of access and <warningtag>don’t have to wade through all information every time.</warningtag>

Caching / Forgetting

Instead of thinking about only the next decision you will make, think about all of the decisions you are going to make about the same options in the future.

Sorting is one of the most fundamental problems that computers are solving for us<ul><li>Bubble sort + Insertion sort: when you put the book in alphabetically against a shelf of books, there is a billion different permutations and options</li><li>Mergesort: when you compare two sets against each other and sort each time, then compare them against the next set</li><li>Bucketsort: putting things into buckets/classifying</li><li>Single elimination: all it tells you is the 1st place, but all other places in the ranking are not truly representative</li><li>Round robin: gives you full information, but also requires the most effort.</li></ul>

Sorting

Inaction is just as irrevocable as action.

The right action can produce a bad outcome. Process is all we have control over, not results.

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.

problemsolving

Problem Solving

books

Books

computerscience

Computer Science

leadershipandmanagement

Leadership & Management

softwareengineering

Software Engineering

An exploration of how computer algorithms can be applied to our everyday lives to solve common decision-making problems and illuminate the workings of the human mind. What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of the new and familiar is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not. Computers, like us, confront limited space and time, so computer scientists have been grappling with similar problems for decades. And the solutions they’ve found have much to teach us. In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths show how algorithms developed for computers 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 peering into the future, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.

Brian Christian is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Brian Christian has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Brian Christian's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

Brian Christian

Tom Griffiths is an accomplished writer whose work has resonated with readers around the world. Tom Griffiths has published several books that explore a range of topics, from fiction to nonfiction, and has received critical acclaim for the ability to weave compelling narratives. Tom Griffiths's writing style is known for its depth and authenticity, and has earned quite a loyal following of readers.

BRIAN CHRISTIAN, TOM GRIFFITHS

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