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Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions Paperback – April 4, 2017
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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.
- Print length368 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHolt Paperbacks
- Publication dateApril 4, 2017
- Dimensions6.1 x 0.9 x 9.15 inches
- ISBN-101250118360
- ISBN-13978-1250118363
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From the Publisher
Editorial Reviews
Review
“A remarkable book... A solid, research-based book that’s applicable to real life. The algorithms the authors discuss are, in fact, more applicable to real-life problems than I’d have ever predicted.... It’s well worth the time to find a copy of Algorithms to Live By and dig deeper.”
―Forbes
“By the end of the book, I was convinced. Not because I endorse the idea of living like some hyper-rational Vulcan, but because computing algorithms could be a surprisingly useful way to embrace the messy compromises of real, non-Vulcan life.”
―The Guardian (UK)
“I absolutely reveled in this book... It's the perfect antidote to the argument you often hear from young math students: ‘What's the point? I'll never use this in real life!’... The whole business, whether it's the relative simplicity of the 37% rule or the mind-twisting possibilities of game theory, is both potentially practical and highly enjoyable as presented here. Recommended.”
―Popular Science (UK)
“An entertaining, intelligently presented book... Craftily programmed to build from one good idea to the next... The value of being aware of algorithmic thinking―of the thornier details of ‘human algorithm design,’ as Christian and Griffiths put it―is not just better problem solving, but also greater insight into the human mind. And who doesn’t want to know how we tick?”
―Kirkus Reviews
“Compelling and entertaining, Algorithms to Live By is packed with practical advice about how to use time, space, and effort more efficiently. And it’s a fascinating exploration of the workings of computer science and the human mind. Whether you want to optimize your to-do list, organize your closet, or understand human memory, this is a great read.”
―Charles Duhigg, author of The Power of Habit
“In this remarkably lucid, fascinating, and compulsively readable book, Christian and Griffiths show how much we can learn from computers. We’ve all heard about the power of algorithms―but Algorithms to Live Byactually explains, brilliantly, how they work, and how we can take advantage of them to make better decisions in our own lives.”
―Alison Gopnik, coauthor of The Scientist in the Crib
“I’ve been waiting for a book to come along that merges computational models with human psychology―and Christian and Griffiths have succeeded beyond all expectations. This is a wonderful book, written so that anyone can understand the computer science that runs our world―and more importantly, what it means to our lives.”
―David Eagleman, author of Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
About the Author
Tom Griffiths is the Henry R. Luce Professor of Information Technology, Consciousness and Culture in the Departments of Psychology and Computer Science at Princeton University. He also directs Priceton’s Computational Cognitive Science Lab, a research group focused on understanding the mathematical foundations of human cognition, and the Princeton Laboratory for Artificial Intelligence, a new effort that supports innovative research efforts in AI and related fields. Griffiths is coauthor of the book Algorithms to Live By and has published over 400 academic papers in venues that include Science, Nature, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Product details
- Publisher : Holt Paperbacks
- Publication date : April 4, 2017
- Edition : Reprint
- Language : English
- Print length : 368 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250118360
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250118363
- Item Weight : 2.31 pounds
- Dimensions : 6.1 x 0.9 x 9.15 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #21,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #25 in Cognitive Psychology (Books)
- #25 in Business Decision Making
- #39 in Decision-Making & Problem Solving
About the authors

Tom Griffiths is a professor of psychology and computer science at Princeton, where he directs the Computational Cognitive Science Lab. He has published scientific papers on topics ranging from cognitive psychology to cultural evolution, and has received awards from the National Academy of Sciences, the Sloan Foundation, the American Psychological Association, and the Psychonomic Society, among others. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Brian Christian is the author of the acclaimed bestsellers "The Most Human Human," a New York Times editors’ choice and a New Yorker favorite book of the year, and "Algorithms to Live By" (with Tom Griffiths), a #1 Audible bestseller, Amazon best science book of the year and MIT Technology Review best book of the year.
Christian’s writing has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Wired, and The Wall Street Journal, as well as peer-reviewed journals such as Cognitive Science. He has been featured on The Daily Show and Radiolab, and has lectured at Google, Facebook, Microsoft, the Santa Fe Institute, and the London School of Economics. His work has won several awards, including publication in Best American Science & Nature Writing, and has been translated into nineteen languages.
Christian holds degrees in computer science, philosophy, and poetry from Brown University and the University of Washington. A Visiting Scholar at the University of California, Berkeley, he lives in San Francisco.























