A relatable, interactive, and funny exploration of algorithms, those essential building blocks of computer science--and of everyday life--from the author of the wildly popular Bad Arguments
Algorithms--processes that are made up of unambiguous steps and do something useful--make up the very foundations of computer science. But they also inform our choices in approaching everyday tasks, from managing a pile of clothes fresh out of the dryer to deciding what music to listen to.
- Matching socks can teach you about search and hash tables
- Planning trips to the store can demonstrate the value of stacks
- Deciding what music to listen to shows why link analysis is all-important
- Crafting a succinct Tweet draws on ideas from compression
- Making your way through a grocery list helps explain priority queues and traversing graphs
- And more As you better understand algorithms, you'll also discover what makes a method faster and more efficient, helping you become a more nimble, creative problem-solver, ready to face new challenges. Bad Choices will open the world of algorithms to all readers, making this a perennial go-to for fans of quirky, accessible science books.