MacCormick, J: Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future

masterfully uses everyday analogies in a way that gets to the heart of the ideas (he calls them tricks) that make the algorithms work. While this is essential for readers without mathematical background, the other lesson that jumps out is that this is a great way to introduce these algorithms to mathematics and computer science students who will go on to more in-depth treatments... This excellent survey is an outstanding achievement and would make an excellent library acquisition. -- Art Gittleman MAA Reviews MacCormick leaves the reader with a sense of the engine that powers the networked world. And at its best, Nine Algorithms enables you to recognise the real world and begin to see those algorithms alive and kicking all around us. -- Kevin Slavin New Scientist Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is technically right on the money, but manages to explain things in ways that are both understandable and fun... Each chapter starts out very simply, gradually building up more complex examples until you reach a full understanding of the algorithm being explained... The writing is excellent: clear, precise, and fun. I highly recommend this book to anyone curious about the ingenious mathematical and algorithmic ideas underlying some of today's most ubiquitous technology. -- Brent Yorgey Math Less Traveled One of the best things about Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future is that it is of interest to computer professionals and innocent bystanders (non-professionals) alike. The author doesn't attempt to 'baffle us with science' or blow us away with his mathematical prowess. Instead, he employs simple analogies that we can all understand. His use of mixing colored paints to explain the machinations of public key cryptography is, frankly, brilliant... I highly recommend this book as a very enjoyable read that will be of interest to anyone who would like to understand more about the way in which the computer systems we use every day perform their magic. -- Clive Maxfield EE Times In our increasingly digitally dominated world, any book that attempts to explain for the layperson 'the ingenious ideas that drive today's computers' should find a ready audience and become required reading for the curious, enthusiastic, responsible and attentive netizen... [Nine Algorithms That Changed the Future] does indeed go a long way toward satisfying that need... MacCormick's two main techniques for conveying his insights are metaphor and a stepwise progression of complexity, moving from usefully oversimplified examples to the actual algorithmic realities... A real sense of the steady progression of computer science arises. -- Paul Di Filippo Barnes and Noble Review Unusual and engaging... A clear and simple explanation of what it is that makes everyday business and personal computing work... MacCormick has a knack of explaining the smart tricks behind how search engines work and why Google is the best; the cryptography that makes online payments safe (with a brilliant paint-mixing analogy for public keys); error correction of noisy signals; pattern recognition from handwritten postcodes to people's faces (his specialism); data compression in 'zip' files; database structures and certified digital signatures... I raced through it and eagerly want to know more. -- Diana Hunter Financial World Algorithms are the controls that drive the engines of the Internet age. Here, MacCormick provides a popular account of several algorithms that affect people's everyday lives. Choice John MacCormick's Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future joins a small set of books that have tried to communicate the nature of the field for a general audience. MacCormick provides something like a quick package tour, with stops at a few highlights--the 'great algorithms' of the title... MacCormick has provided a nice introductory tour, suitable for those who are willing to commit to only a brief visit. Perhaps the taste that he provides will inspire some of those tourists to a more extensive exploration. -- Cary Gray Books & Culture This is a valuable addition to the popular computing literature. I would definitely recommend it for any university computer science collection, both for computing students and for those that are just interested. Larger public library systems would probably also benefit, especially for branches located near high schools. As for high schools, this is definitely the kind of book that could make a huge difference in the life of a young man or woman who's wavering about a career in computing. -- John Dupuis Confessions of a Science Librarian In Nine Algorithms that Changed the Future, John MacCormick illustrates the magical mix of tricks, genius, and raw number-crunching power that computers use to solve the everyday problems behind activities like web searches and secure online banking. This book stands out for presenting complicated algorithms in a way that is accessible to a wide variety of readers. -- Andrew M. C. Dawes Books & Culture [This is an] extraordinary achievement in the daunting task of presenting computer science for a popular audience. -- Ernest Davis Popular (Computer) Science MacCormick writes in a very clear, simple style, leading the reader step by step through even the most complex explanations. -- Wendy M Grossman ZDNet For a reader unskilled with computers, there's likely no better account of the software that underpins everything from Amazon to Facebook. -- Brett Szmajda COSMOS Magazine The book will certainly delight not only readers with little or no computer science background, but computer scientists as well. -- Y. Narahari Current Science