Skip to content

The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer
Stock Photo: Cover May Be Different

The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer Paperback - 2001 - 1st Edition

by Berlinski, David

  • Used
  • Paperback

A deep and instructive account of the algorithm's development and its role in modern life.This book combines history, science and math to explain and explore the intriguing story of this momentous discovery. Illustrations.

Description

Mariner Books, 2001-05-03. Paperback. Like New. Book has slight shelf wear from storage and use; otherwise the book is in excellent condition.
New
NZ$9.91
NZ$6.24 Shipping to USA
Standard delivery: 7 to 14 days
More Shipping Options
Ships from Readers Anonymous (Illinois, United States)

Details

About Readers Anonymous Illinois, United States

Biblio member since 2007
Seller rating: This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.

readers_anonymous is committed to providing each customer with the highest standard of customer service. Please contact us via e-mail with any questions or special requests.

Terms of Sale: All Sales are subject to payment being received by us. Returns will be accepted only if item received does not match our listing. For returns we will issue a refund once we physically have the item back in our possession. You need to have the return authorized by us prior to returning the item.

Browse books from Readers Anonymous

Summary

Simply put, an algorithm is a set of instructions-it's the code that makes computers run. A basic idea that proved elusive for hundreds of years and bent the minds of the greatest thinkers in the world, the algorithm is what made the modern world possible. Without the algorithm, there would have been no computer, no Internet, no virtual reality, no e-mail, or any other technological advance that we rely on every day.
In The Advent of the Algorithm, David Berlinski combines science, history, and math to explain and explore the intriguing story of how the algorithm was finally discovered by a succession of mathematicians and logicians, and how this paved the way for the digital age. Beginning with Leibniz and culminating in the middle of the twentieth century with the groundbreaking work of Gödel and Turing, The Advent of the Algorithm is an epic tale told with clarity and imaginative brilliance.

First line

Some philosophers see into themselves, and some into their times; still others forge an alliance with the future, scribbling their secrets late at night and speaking in whispers to the insubstantial and impatient souls that are gathered around their study door, dying to be born.

Categories

Media reviews

Praise for The Advent of the Algorithm

"Berlinski has composed energetic, intertwined tales that make it nearly impossible for readers, once drawn in, to lose interest. . . . An uncommon achievement of both style and substance."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A tour de force, this book gives intellectual dilemmas a human face, while restoring grandeur and mystery to a universe still too richly intricate to fit within a computer protocol."-Booklist (starred review)

"An extraordinary book . . . Making simple and accessible that which had previously been murky and intimidating is Berlinski's specialty."-Chicago Tribune

Citations

  • American Spectator, 03/01/2002, Page 79