Book Notes

Algorithms to Live By, Brian Christian (8/10)

Applying computer science principles to everyday human-decision making

Jan 7, 2023 • 1 min read

🚀 The Book in 3 Sentences

The book was cool and engaging initially, but the more I read, the more I felt it kinda dragged on. Some of the technical parts were interesting, but they were too nerdy for my liking, and often found myself craving a chapter summary and struggling to read all the way through. That said, persevering through chapters often proved rewarded, and the book is well-structured and researched, and both intellectually stimulating and practical.

People interested in the intersection of comp sci, psychology, problem-solving, and self-improvement

Optimal stopping: The 37% rule can be applied to decisions like choosing a partner or hiring an employee, suggesting that after evaluating 37% of the options, you should choose the next best candidate that surpasses the best option so far
Explore/exploit trade-off: Balancing exploration (trying new things) and exploitation (capitalizing on known options) is crucial for making optimal decisions in various aspects of life, such as choosing restaurants or investing
Sorting and searching: Efficient techniques for organizing and retrieving information, like the quicksort algorithm and binary search, can be applied to everyday tasks, e.g. organizing a bookshelf or searching for a misplaced item
Scheduling and prioritization: comp sci principles like the Earliest Due Date (EDD) and Moore's Algorithm can help effectively manage time, prioritize tasks, and reduce procrastination

In life, as in computer science, there are many different ways to balance the need for order and the desire for flexibility
The best algorithms are about doing what makes the most sense in the least amount of time
To be a good decision-maker, you have to be good at knowing when to stop looking for more information