Synopses & Reviews
A fascinating guided tour of the complex, fast-moving, and influential world of algorithmswhat they are, why theyre such powerful predictors of human behavior, and where theyre headed next.
Algorithms exert an extraordinary level of influence on our everyday lives - from dating websites and financial trading floors, through to online retailing and internet searches - Google's search algorithm is now a more closely guarded commercial secret than the recipe for Coca-Cola. Algorithms follow a series of instructions to solve a problem and will include a strategy to produce the best outcome possible from the options and permutations available. Used by scientists for many years and applied in a very specialized way they are now increasingly employed to process the vast amounts of data being generated, in investment banks, in the movie industry where they are used to predict success or failure at the box office and by social scientists and policy makers.
What if everything in life could be reduced to a simple formula? What if numbers were able to tell us which partners we were best matched with not just in terms of attractiveness, but for a long-term committed marriage? Or if they could say which films would be the biggest hits at the box office, and what changes could be made to those films to make them even more successful? Or even who is likely to commit certain crimes, and when? This may sound like the world of science fiction, but in fact it is just the tip of the iceberg in a world that is increasingly ruled by complex algorithms and neural networks.
In The Formula, Luke Dormehl takes readers inside the world of numbers, asking how we came to believe in the all-conquering power of algorithms; introducing the mathematicians, artificial intelligence experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are shaping this brave new world, and ultimately asking how we survive in an era where numbers can sometimes seem to create as many problems as they solve.
Review
Publishers Weekly
Stewart shares his enthusiasm as well as his knowledge in this tour of ground-breaking equations and the research they supported
. An entertaining and illuminating collection of curious facts and histories suitable for random dipping-in or reading straight through.”
Kirkus Reviews
Stewart provides clear, cogent explanations of how the equations work without burdening the reader with cumbersome derivations
. He gives a fascinating explanation of how Newtons laws, when extended to three-body problems, are still used by NASA to calculate the best route from Earth to Mars and have laid the basis for chaos theory. Throughout, Stewarts style is felicitous.”
Discover
Seemingly basic equations have enabled us to predict eclipses, engineer earthquake-proof buildings, and invent the refrigerator. In this lively volume, mathematician Ian Stewart delves into 17 equations that shape our daily existence, including those dreamed up by the likes of Einstein, Newton, and Erwin Schrödinger.”
Macleans
Stewart is the finest living math popularizer a writer who can tackle eye-spraining mathematical topics approachably, and yet dazzle hard-core nerds with new and surprising information. It is hard not to get your moneys worth from him, and in a book like this he is at his best because of the very wide ground covered.”
Library Journal
Stewarts expertise and his well-developed style (enhanced by a nice sense of humor) make for enjoyable reading
. [A] worthwhile and entertaining book, accessible to all readers. Recommended for anyone interested in the influence of mathematics on the development of science and on the emergence of our current technology-driven society.”
Washington Independent Review of Books
Stewart has managed to produce a remarkably readable, informative and entertaining volume on a subject about which few are as well informed as they would like to be.”
New York Journal of Books
Stewart is a genius in the way he conveys his excitement and sense of wonder
. He has that valuable grasp of not only what it takes to make equations interesting, but also to make science cool.”
Steve Mirsky, Scientific American
[Stewart] takes the reader on an engaging tour of vital math for a modern world
. I highly recommend Stewarts wonderfully accessible book.”
Physics Today
In Pursuit of the Unknown is an interesting and highly entertaining book. It would make a great gift for a bright high school grandchild who has expressed interest in a technical life, or for a physicists own secret reading.”
Review
“The clash between humanists and technologists, between brain power and machine power, is an ancient battle. In his lucidly written account of how this clash has played out in past years and how it will unfold in the future, Luke Dormehl is a tour guide with the breadth of a scholar, the sagacity of a judge, and the clear eye of a good journalist. This important book deserves to be read, and digested, by all who wrestle with, and enjoy -- or worry about -- a world transformed by digital technology.”
—Ken Auletta, author of Googled
“This information-rich narrative [is] fascinating for experts and laymen alike. A great resource for anyone seeking to understand the intersection of technology and humanity in the 21st century.”
—Publishers Weekly
“A persuasive, timely interrogation of one of our age's most dangerous assumptions: that information is the same as understanding, and that everything which counts can be counted.”
—Tom Chatfield, author of Netymology and How to Thrive in the Digital Age
“This is exactly the type of book we need to be reading as society considers the computerized control of nearly all the systems that affect our lives.”
—Chris Dannen, Fast Company
“A smart and thoughtful overview of algorithms and how they affect our daily lives.”
—John P. Kelley, President and CEO of Blackstone Discovery
"From policing, to pricing, to the pursuit of happiness, Luke Dormehl demonstrates how algorithms are driving decision-making across a range of endeavours - including some truly unexpected areas."
—Nick Meaney, CEO and Co-Founder of Epagogix
"A perfect combination of journalism and scholarship ... An essential text for understanding the shimmering boundary between human beings and the machines they create."
—Stephen Ramsay, author of Reading Machines
Synopsis
Acclaimed writer and mathematician Ian Stewart examines the seventeen equations that have revolutionized our thinking and changed the course of history.
Synopsis
In
In Pursuit of the Unknown, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart uses a handful of mathematical equations to explore the vitally important connections between math and human progress. We often overlook the historical link between mathematics and technological advances, says Stewartbut this connection is integral to any complete understanding of human history.
Equations are modeled on the patterns we find in the world around us, says Stewart, and it is through equations that we are able to make sense of, and in turn influence, our world. Stewart locates the origins of each equation he presentsfrom Pythagorass Theorem to Newtons Law of Gravity to Einsteins Theory of Relativitywithin a particular historical moment, elucidating the development of mathematical and philosophical thought necessary for each equations discovery. None of these equations emerged in a vacuum, Stewart shows; each drew, in some way, on past equations and the thinking of the day. In turn, all of these equations paved the way for major developments in mathematics, science, philosophy, and technology. Without logarithms (invented in the early 17th century by John Napier and improved by Henry Briggs), scientists would not have been able to calculate the movement of the planets, and mathematicians would not have been able to develop fractal geometry. The Wave Equation is one of the most important equations in physics, and is crucial for engineers studying the vibrations in vehicles and the response of buildings to earthquakes. And the equation at the heart of Information Theory, devised by Claude Shannon, is the basis of digital communication today.
An approachable and informative guide to the equations upon which nearly every aspect of scientific and mathematical understanding depends, In Pursuit of the Unknown is also a reminder that equations have profoundly influenced our thinking and continue to make possible many of the advances that we take for granted.
Synopsis
Most people are familiar with historyand#8217;s great equations: Newtonand#8217;s Law of Gravity, for instance, or Einsteinand#8217;s theory of relativity. But the way these mathematical breakthroughs have contributed to human progress is seldom appreciated. In In Pursuit of the Unknown, celebrated mathematician Ian Stewart untangles the roots of our most important mathematical statements to show that equations have long been a driving force behind nearly every aspect of our lives. Using seventeen of our most crucial equationsand#151;including the Wave Equation that allowed engineers to measure a buildingand#8217;s response to earthquakes, saving countless lives, and the Black-Scholes model, used by bankers to track the price of financial derivatives over timeand#151;Stewart illustrates that many of the advances we now take for granted were made possible by mathematical discoveries. An approachable, lively, and informative guide to the mathematical building blocks of modern life, In Pursuit of the Unknown is a penetrating exploration of how we have also used equations to make sense of, and in turn influence, our world.
About the Author
Ian Stewart is Emeritus Professor of Mathematics and active researcher at the University of Warwick. He is also a regular research visitor at the University of Houston, the Institute of Mathematics and Its Applications in Minneapolis, and the Santa Fe institute. His writing has appeared in New Scientist, Discover, Scientific American, and many newspapers in the U.K. and U.S. He lives in Coventry, England.
Table of Contents
Why Equations?
1. The squaw on the hippopotamus
2. Shortening the proceedings
3. Ghosts of departed quantities
4. The system of the world
5. Portent of the ideal world
6. Much ado about knotting
7. Patterns of chance
8. Good vibrations
9. Ripples and blips
10. The ascent of humanity
11. Waves in the ether
12. Law and disorder
13. One thing is absolute
14. Quantum weirdness
15. Codes, communications, and computers
16. The imbalance of nature
17. The Midas formula
Where Next?