Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| |||||||||||||||
 Trade In this Item for up to £6.00
Get an extra £5 when you trade in books worth £10 or more until June 30, 2012. Trade in Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future: The Ingenious Ideas That Drive Today's Computers for an Amazon.co.uk gift card of up to £6.00, which you can then spend on millions of items across the site. Trade-in values may vary (terms apply). Find more products eligible for trade-in.
|
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Product Description
Review
Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future offers a great way to find out what computer science is really about. In this very readable book, MacCormick (a computer scientist at Dickinson College) shows how a collection of sets of intangible instructions invented since the 1940s has led to monumental changes in all our lives. . . . MacCormick provides a taste of why we computer scientists get so excited about algorithms--for their utility, of course, but also for their beauty and elegance. -- Paul Curzon, Science
Most people know little and care less about how, say, electronic payments are kept secure or how movies are crammed onto DVDs. But as MacCormick shows, they're the result of often stunning ingenuity and creativity. . . . For insights into the thinking that can turn gigabytes into gigabucks, start here. -- Robert Matthews, BBC Focus
[MacCormick] masterfully uses everyday analogies in a way that gets to the heart of the ideas (he calls them tricks) that make the algorithms work. While this is essential for readers without mathematical background, the other lesson that jumps out is that this is a great way to introduce these algorithms to mathematics and computer science students who will go on to more in-depth treatments. . . . This excellent survey is an outstanding achievement and would make an excellent library acquisition. -- Art Gittleman, MAA Reviews
MacCormick leaves the reader with a sense of the engine that powers the networked world. And at its best, Nine Algorithms enables you to recognise the real world and begin to see those algorithms alive and kicking all around us. -- Kevin Slavin, New Scientist
Excellent. . . . MacCormick clearly believes that to be a responsible driver of current technology, you need to understand what is going on at the fundamental level. In addition, he wants us to take delight in the elegance of the solutions that have been developed to address complex questions of the security, integrity and availability of data and digital services. . . . This is an unusually well-written text suitable for anyone with an interest in how today's information systems really work. -- John Gilbey, Times Higher Education
Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is technically right on the money, but manages to explain things in ways that are both understandable and fun. . . . Each chapter starts out very simply, gradually building up more complex examples until you reach a full understanding of the algorithm being explained. . . . The writing is excellent: clear, precise, and fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the ingenious mathematical and algorithmic ideas underlying some of today's most ubiquitous technology. -- Brent Yorgey, Math Less Traveled
MacCormick's book is an easy-to-read and enjoyable guide to some key algorithms. Above all, it conveys a sense of wonder--at the beautiful science, rather than the technical feats, that makes computers do their magic. -- Andreas Trabesinger, Nature Physics
Despite the widespread popular interest in computers, there are very few good, popular introductions to the central ideas of computer science. Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future is certainly one of the best that I have seen. . . . An extraordinary achievement in the daunting task of presenting computer science for a popular audience. -- Ernest Davis, SIAM News
One of the best things about Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is that it is of interest to computer professionals and innocent bystanders (non-professionals) alike. The author doesn't attempt to 'baffle us with science' or blow us away with his mathematical prowess. Instead, he employs simple analogies that we can all understand. His use of mixing colored paints to explain the machinations of public key cryptography is, frankly, brilliant. . . . I highly recommend this book as a very enjoyable read that will be of interest to anyone who would like to understand more about the way in which the computer systems we use every day perform their magic. -- Clive Maxfield, EE Times
In our increasingly digitally dominated world, any book that attempts to explain for the layperson 'the ingenious ideas that drive today's computers' should find a ready audience and become required reading for the curious, enthusiastic, responsible and attentive netizen. . . . [Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future] does indeed go a long way toward satisfying that need. . . . MacCormick's two main techniques for conveying his insights are metaphor and a stepwise progression of complexity, moving from usefully oversimplified examples to the actual algorithmic realities. . . . A real sense of the steady progression of computer science arises. -- Paul Di Filippo, Barnes and Noble Review
Unusual and engaging. . . . A clear and simple explanation of what it is that makes everyday business and personal computing work. . . . MacCormick has a knack of explaining the smart tricks behind how search engines work and why Google is the best; the cryptography that makes online payments safe (with a brilliant paint-mixing analogy for public keys); error correction of noisy signals; pattern recognition from handwritten postcodes to people's faces (his specialism); data compression in 'zip' files; database structures and certified digital signatures. . . . I raced through it and eagerly want to know more. -- Diana Hunter, Financial World
Algorithms are the controls that drive the engines of the Internet age. Here, MacCormick provides a popular account of several algorithms that affect people's everyday lives. -- "Choice
Most people know little and care less about how, say, electronic payments are kept secure or how movies are crammed onto DVDs. But as MacCormick shows, they're the result of often stunning ingenuity and creativity. . . . For insights into the thinking that can turn gigabytes into gigabucks, start here. -- Robert Matthews, BBC Focus
[MacCormick] masterfully uses everyday analogies in a way that gets to the heart of the ideas (he calls them tricks) that make the algorithms work. While this is essential for readers without mathematical background, the other lesson that jumps out is that this is a great way to introduce these algorithms to mathematics and computer science students who will go on to more in-depth treatments. . . . This excellent survey is an outstanding achievement and would make an excellent library acquisition. -- Art Gittleman, MAA Reviews
MacCormick leaves the reader with a sense of the engine that powers the networked world. And at its best, Nine Algorithms enables you to recognise the real world and begin to see those algorithms alive and kicking all around us. -- Kevin Slavin, New Scientist
Excellent. . . . MacCormick clearly believes that to be a responsible driver of current technology, you need to understand what is going on at the fundamental level. In addition, he wants us to take delight in the elegance of the solutions that have been developed to address complex questions of the security, integrity and availability of data and digital services. . . . This is an unusually well-written text suitable for anyone with an interest in how today's information systems really work. -- John Gilbey, Times Higher Education
Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is technically right on the money, but manages to explain things in ways that are both understandable and fun. . . . Each chapter starts out very simply, gradually building up more complex examples until you reach a full understanding of the algorithm being explained. . . . The writing is excellent: clear, precise, and fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the ingenious mathematical and algorithmic ideas underlying some of today's most ubiquitous technology. -- Brent Yorgey, Math Less Traveled
MacCormick's book is an easy-to-read and enjoyable guide to some key algorithms. Above all, it conveys a sense of wonder--at the beautiful science, rather than the technical feats, that makes computers do their magic. -- Andreas Trabesinger, Nature Physics
Despite the widespread popular interest in computers, there are very few good, popular introductions to the central ideas of computer science. Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future is certainly one of the best that I have seen. . . . An extraordinary achievement in the daunting task of presenting computer science for a popular audience. -- Ernest Davis, SIAM News
One of the best things about Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is that it is of interest to computer professionals and innocent bystanders (non-professionals) alike. The author doesn't attempt to 'baffle us with science' or blow us away with his mathematical prowess. Instead, he employs simple analogies that we can all understand. His use of mixing colored paints to explain the machinations of public key cryptography is, frankly, brilliant. . . . I highly recommend this book as a very enjoyable read that will be of interest to anyone who would like to understand more about the way in which the computer systems we use every day perform their magic. -- Clive Maxfield, EE Times
In our increasingly digitally dominated world, any book that attempts to explain for the layperson 'the ingenious ideas that drive today's computers' should find a ready audience and become required reading for the curious, enthusiastic, responsible and attentive netizen. . . . [Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future] does indeed go a long way toward satisfying that need. . . . MacCormick's two main techniques for conveying his insights are metaphor and a stepwise progression of complexity, moving from usefully oversimplified examples to the actual algorithmic realities. . . . A real sense of the steady progression of computer science arises. -- Paul Di Filippo, Barnes and Noble Review
Unusual and engaging. . . . A clear and simple explanation of what it is that makes everyday business and personal computing work. . . . MacCormick has a knack of explaining the smart tricks behind how search engines work and why Google is the best; the cryptography that makes online payments safe (with a brilliant paint-mixing analogy for public keys); error correction of noisy signals; pattern recognition from handwritten postcodes to people's faces (his specialism); data compression in 'zip' files; database structures and certified digital signatures. . . . I raced through it and eagerly want to know more. -- Diana Hunter, Financial World
Algorithms are the controls that drive the engines of the Internet age. Here, MacCormick provides a popular account of several algorithms that affect people's everyday lives. -- "Choice
Review
Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future offers a great way to find out what computer science is really about. In this very readable book, MacCormick (a computer scientist at Dickinson College) shows how a collection of sets of intangible instructions invented since the 1940s has led to monumental changes in all our lives... MacCormick provides a taste of why we computer scientists get so excited about algorithms--for their utility, of course, but also for their beauty and elegance. -- Paul Curzon, Science Most people know little and care less about how, say, electronic payments are kept secure or how movies are crammed onto DVDs. But as MacCormick shows, they're the result of often stunning ingenuity and creativity... For insights into the thinking that can turn gigabytes into gigabucks, start here. -- Robert Matthews, BBC Focus [MacCormick] masterfully uses everyday analogies in a way that gets to the heart of the ideas (he calls them tricks) that make the algorithms work. While this is essential for readers without mathematical background, the other lesson that jumps out is that this is a great way to introduce these algorithms to mathematics and computer science students who will go on to more in-depth treatments... This excellent survey is an outstanding achievement and would make an excellent library acquisition. -- Art Gittleman, MAA Reviews MacCormick leaves the reader with a sense of the engine that powers the networked world. And at its best, Nine Algorithms enables you to recognise the real world and begin to see those algorithms alive and kicking all around us. -- Kevin Slavin, New Scientist Excellent... MacCormick clearly believes that to be a responsible driver of current technology, you need to understand what is going on at the fundamental level. In addition, he wants us to take delight in the elegance of the solutions that have been developed to address complex questions of the security, integrity and availability of data and digital services... This is an unusually well-written text suitable for anyone with an interest in how today's information systems really work. -- John Gilbey, Times Higher Education Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is technically right on the money, but manages to explain things in ways that are both understandable and fun... Each chapter starts out very simply, gradually building up more complex examples until you reach a full understanding of the algorithm being explained... The writing is excellent: clear, precise, and fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the ingenious mathematical and algorithmic ideas underlying some of today's most ubiquitous technology. -- Brent Yorgey, Math Less Traveled MacCormick's book is an easy-to-read and enjoyable guide to some key algorithms. Above all, it conveys a sense of wonder--at the beautiful science, rather than the technical feats, that makes computers do their magic. -- Andreas Trabesinger, Nature Physics Despite the widespread popular interest in computers, there are very few good, popular introductions to the central ideas of computer science. Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future is certainly one of the best that I have seen... An extraordinary achievement in the daunting task of presenting computer science for a popular audience. -- Ernest Davis, SIAM News One of the best things about Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is that it is of interest to computer professionals and innocent bystanders (non-professionals) alike. The author doesn't attempt to 'baffle us with science' or blow us away with his mathematical prowess. Instead, he employs simple analogies that we can all understand. His use of mixing colored paints to explain the machinations of public key cryptography is, frankly, brilliant... I highly recommend this book as a very enjoyable read that will be of interest to anyone who would like to understand more about the way in which the computer systems we use every day perform their magic. -- Clive Maxfield, EE Times In our increasingly digitally dominated world, any book that attempts to explain for the layperson 'the ingenious ideas that drive today's computers' should find a ready audience and become required reading for the curious, enthusiastic, responsible and attentive netizen... [Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future] does indeed go a long way toward satisfying that need... MacCormick's two main techniques for conveying his insights are metaphor and a stepwise progression of complexity, moving from usefully oversimplified examples to the actual algorithmic realities... A real sense of the steady progression of computer science arises. -- Paul Di Filippo, Barnes and Noble Review Unusual and engaging... A clear and simple explanation of what it is that makes everyday business and personal computing work... MacCormick has a knack of explaining the smart tricks behind how search engines work and why Google is the best; the cryptography that makes online payments safe (with a brilliant paint-mixing analogy for public keys); error correction of noisy signals; pattern recognition from handwritten postcodes to people's faces (his specialism); data compression in 'zip' files; database structures and certified digital signatures... I raced through it and eagerly want to know more. -- Diana Hunter, Financial World Algorithms are the controls that drive the engines of the Internet age. Here, MacCormick provides a popular account of several algorithms that affect people's everyday lives. -- "Choice
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Suggested Tags from Similar Products(What's this?)Be the first one to add a relevant tag (keyword that's strongly related to this product)
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
The intention of this book is excellent: can we identify both the glories of algorithms in computing and detect their limitations at the same time? MacCormick demonstrates that this is, more or less, possible. With his simplified (and occasionally patronising) reductions of the clever 'tricks' (as he describes them) that certain algorithms perform, we emerge with a better idea of the underlying mathematics. The main mission of the book is more or less accomplished, especially with the final technical chapter on undecidable problems that demonstrates the limitations of the binary computer (this is not to say computers are limited in another form of expression, but that there are limits to what they can do. That the humans who rely are them are also thus is noted). To that end, this would be a sobering book for a few techno-boosters to read. The problem with it is that not all the algorithms are consistently interesting, and some (like digital signatures) are variations on a theme.
Nonetheless, a good explanation of the computing that happens in front of you on a daily basis, and a dampener on more ludicrous speculation of what a computer (as opposed to a technology) can actually do. It begs the question about the difference, but makes a decent fist of explaining the practical impact of the age of mathematical computer science.
Nonetheless, a good explanation of the computing that happens in front of you on a daily basis, and a dampener on more ludicrous speculation of what a computer (as opposed to a technology) can actually do. It begs the question about the difference, but makes a decent fist of explaining the practical impact of the age of mathematical computer science.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
read three chapters so far and have to say im disapointed. explanations are staggeringly long winded and repetative. chances are if you need things explaining this laboriously you are not the kind of person who will find the subject interesting. on the plus side its very quick to skim
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
10 reviews
76 of 80 people found the following review helpful
A valuable book for computer professionals, designed to be accessible to those who aren't
5 Jan 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
MacCormick targets this book at intelligent laypeople, folks who use computers but don't have a formal background in either computer science or mathematics. The book's greatest strength is in the examples he structures to illustrate some fairly deep computer concepts using concrete metaphors such as paint mixing and padlocks.
The algorithms he describes include the key insights that have gone into building search engines such as Google and its predecessor Alta Vista, public key cryptography and digital signatures, data compression, error correction, pattern recognition techniques, and relational databases.
The nature of the algorithms varies. Public-key cryptography and digital signatures are based on very elegant mathematics. Many of the other algorithms are simpler, insights into how people work and clever ways of programming. Many of the things he discusses involve whole families of different algorithms. There are lots of different schemes to compress data, each with advantages and disadvantages, most of which work better with some kinds of data than others. The same seems true of error detection and correction techniques. There is a lot of common sense, but nothing he describes in those realms seems like true genius.
I made my living with relational databases. MacCormick does a good job of describing a couple of the tricks that ensure data integrity, which as he explains is absolutely vital to the functioning of a database. Those tricks include a two-phase commit, rollbacks, and transaction logging. I think he did not devote enough explanation to the power of joins, selects, and the other operators that enable a programmer to easily assemble data in a useful format. Working in a relational database involves a major paradigm shift from working one record or transaction at a time to working in parallel with every element in a database which matches certain criteria. This was central to Codd's insight; the guarantee of integrity is simply an essential feature of the implementation of that insight.
I'd recommend the MacCormick brush up on his HL Mencken or PT Barnum. You can go broke overestimating the intelligence of the American people. My guess is that the majority of people with patience enough to go through his examples already know more about computers than he expects. However, even a guy like me who has been working with computers pretty constantly since 1958 and had a passing familiarity with every algorithm he discusses certainly benefits from his illustrations.
How is this important? There should at least be footnotes for the mathematically or computer literate. For instance, he describes modulo arithmetic as "clock arithmetic." Every time you past 12 (or the arbitrarily chosen the biggest number, usually prime, on his metaphorical clock, you start over. Just like five hours after eight o'clock is one o'clock.
He uses multiplication to frame out the logic of the concepts of public key cryptography and digital signatures, which are operationally fairly similar. He then switches to exponentiation, which is the method which is really used, because it is not reversible. The book would have been stronger if he had given examples. Just as multiplication has an inverse function, division, exponentiation has a reverse function, logarithms. The difference is that given a number and one of its factors, it is trivial to divide to find the other factor. Conversely, given a number and a modulo exponential of that number, it is difficult to derive the logarithm in a modulo world. I think.
I would have enjoyed an explanation of why the modulo arithmetic works. In his multiplication example he takes advantage of the commutative property of multiplication: the order of the factors doesn't matter. The same is true of exponentiation. (5^3)^4 = (5^4)^3. Most college graduates have been exposed to this fact. I would have enjoyed reading an explanation of why it is also true for modulo arithmetic. In other words, if I raise five to the third power,modulo 11, and raise that to the fourth power,modulo 11, please provide a proof of the proposition that all get the same answer as if I did the operations in reverse. In other words, why does the principle of commutativity remained true in a modulo arithmetic world.
These quibbles aside, I will have to say that his paint mixing metaphor for public-key cryptography provides far and away the clearest explanation I have ever read. It is exactly what he intended: something an intelligent layperson could understand. He has a similarly elegant padlock and key metaphor for digital signatures. The strength of his argument falters a bit when he gets into numeric examples. He chooses one digit numbers for simplicity. In doing so he sacrifices communicating intuitively the power of very large numbers.
I have spent a lifetime with programmers, and I don't think I have known one who would have attempted even to explain these algorithms. I wish MacCormick luck with his intelligent laypeople, but I think it will be of most value to people within the profession to understand the tools they work with every day. A valuable book - glad to have it on my shelf.
The algorithms he describes include the key insights that have gone into building search engines such as Google and its predecessor Alta Vista, public key cryptography and digital signatures, data compression, error correction, pattern recognition techniques, and relational databases.
The nature of the algorithms varies. Public-key cryptography and digital signatures are based on very elegant mathematics. Many of the other algorithms are simpler, insights into how people work and clever ways of programming. Many of the things he discusses involve whole families of different algorithms. There are lots of different schemes to compress data, each with advantages and disadvantages, most of which work better with some kinds of data than others. The same seems true of error detection and correction techniques. There is a lot of common sense, but nothing he describes in those realms seems like true genius.
I made my living with relational databases. MacCormick does a good job of describing a couple of the tricks that ensure data integrity, which as he explains is absolutely vital to the functioning of a database. Those tricks include a two-phase commit, rollbacks, and transaction logging. I think he did not devote enough explanation to the power of joins, selects, and the other operators that enable a programmer to easily assemble data in a useful format. Working in a relational database involves a major paradigm shift from working one record or transaction at a time to working in parallel with every element in a database which matches certain criteria. This was central to Codd's insight; the guarantee of integrity is simply an essential feature of the implementation of that insight.
I'd recommend the MacCormick brush up on his HL Mencken or PT Barnum. You can go broke overestimating the intelligence of the American people. My guess is that the majority of people with patience enough to go through his examples already know more about computers than he expects. However, even a guy like me who has been working with computers pretty constantly since 1958 and had a passing familiarity with every algorithm he discusses certainly benefits from his illustrations.
How is this important? There should at least be footnotes for the mathematically or computer literate. For instance, he describes modulo arithmetic as "clock arithmetic." Every time you past 12 (or the arbitrarily chosen the biggest number, usually prime, on his metaphorical clock, you start over. Just like five hours after eight o'clock is one o'clock.
He uses multiplication to frame out the logic of the concepts of public key cryptography and digital signatures, which are operationally fairly similar. He then switches to exponentiation, which is the method which is really used, because it is not reversible. The book would have been stronger if he had given examples. Just as multiplication has an inverse function, division, exponentiation has a reverse function, logarithms. The difference is that given a number and one of its factors, it is trivial to divide to find the other factor. Conversely, given a number and a modulo exponential of that number, it is difficult to derive the logarithm in a modulo world. I think.
I would have enjoyed an explanation of why the modulo arithmetic works. In his multiplication example he takes advantage of the commutative property of multiplication: the order of the factors doesn't matter. The same is true of exponentiation. (5^3)^4 = (5^4)^3. Most college graduates have been exposed to this fact. I would have enjoyed reading an explanation of why it is also true for modulo arithmetic. In other words, if I raise five to the third power,modulo 11, and raise that to the fourth power,modulo 11, please provide a proof of the proposition that all get the same answer as if I did the operations in reverse. In other words, why does the principle of commutativity remained true in a modulo arithmetic world.
These quibbles aside, I will have to say that his paint mixing metaphor for public-key cryptography provides far and away the clearest explanation I have ever read. It is exactly what he intended: something an intelligent layperson could understand. He has a similarly elegant padlock and key metaphor for digital signatures. The strength of his argument falters a bit when he gets into numeric examples. He chooses one digit numbers for simplicity. In doing so he sacrifices communicating intuitively the power of very large numbers.
I have spent a lifetime with programmers, and I don't think I have known one who would have attempted even to explain these algorithms. I wish MacCormick luck with his intelligent laypeople, but I think it will be of most value to people within the profession to understand the tools they work with every day. A valuable book - glad to have it on my shelf.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Pedagogical Tour de Force
26 Mar 2012
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
A terrific book if you are interested in understanding how these algorithms work. The author is superb at explaining the core ideas in clear, understandable terms. You don't need to be a computer geek to follow this book. All you need is a desire to understand. I wish I had had more teachers like this guy when I was in school. I am truly impressed with his ability to explain.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Good and enjoyable book to read
28 Mar 2012
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
In this book, the author presents the concepts behind some algorithms which have had profound impact on our everyday lives. And most importantly, he does it in a way which makes it understandable for people without formal training in computer science. And even more importantly I think that even computer scientists should really use this book as a learning on how to present complex mathematical ideas with simple examples which almost anyone can understand. My personal favourite is the explanation on public key cryptography using the "paints" example. A must buy for anyone with the curiosity to understand how things work in the world.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
