Once Upon an Algorithm
(eAudiobook)
How Hansel and Gretel, Sherlock Holmes, the movie Groundhog Day, Harry Potter, and other familiar stories illustrate the concepts of computing. Picture a computer scientist, staring at a screen and clicking away frantically on a keyboard, hacking into a system, or perhaps developing an app. Now delete that picture. In Once Upon an Algorithm, Martin Erwig explains computation as something that takes place beyond electronic computers, and computer science as the study of systematic problem solving. Erwig points out that many daily activities involve problem solving. Getting up in the morning, for example: You get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast. This simple daily routine solves a recurring problem through a series of well-defined steps. In computer science, such a routine is called an algorithm. Erwig illustrates a series of concepts in computing with examples from daily life and familiar stories. Hansel and Gretel, for example, execute an algorithm to get home from the forest. The movie Groundhog Day illustrates the problem of unsolvability; Sherlock Holmes manipulates data structures when solving a crime; the magic in Harry Potter's world is understood through types and abstraction; and Indiana Jones demonstrates the complexity of searching. Along the way, Erwig also discusses representations and different ways to organize data; "intractable" problems; language, syntax, and ambiguity; control structures, loops, and the halting problem; different forms of recursion; and rules for finding errors in algorithms. This engaging book explains computation accessibly and shows its relevance to daily life. Something to think about next time we execute the algorithm of getting up in the morning.
Notes
Erwig, M., & Dixon, W. (2018). Once Upon an Algorithm. Unabridged. [United States], Tantor Media, Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Author Date Citation (style guide)Erwig, Martin and Walter, Dixon. 2018. Once Upon an Algorithm. [United States], Tantor Media, Inc.
Chicago / Turabian - Humanities Citation (style guide)Erwig, Martin and Walter, Dixon, Once Upon an Algorithm. [United States], Tantor Media, Inc, 2018.
MLA Citation (style guide)Erwig, Martin, and Walter Dixon. Once Upon an Algorithm. Unabridged. [United States], Tantor Media, Inc, 2018.
Hoopla Extract Information
hooplaId | 12148398 |
---|---|
title | Once Upon an Algorithm |
kind | AUDIOBOOK |
price | 2.51 |
active | 1 |
pa | 0 |
profanity | 0 |
children | 0 |
demo | 0 |
rating | |
abridged | 0 |
dateLastUpdated | Jan 14, 2023 08:04:38 PM |
Record Information
Last File Modification Time | Jan 04, 2024 04:04:36 PM |
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Last Grouped Work Modification Time | Jan 04, 2024 04:00:02 PM |
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520 | |a How Hansel and Gretel, Sherlock Holmes, the movie Groundhog Day, Harry Potter, and other familiar stories illustrate the concepts of computing. Picture a computer scientist, staring at a screen and clicking away frantically on a keyboard, hacking into a system, or perhaps developing an app. Now delete that picture. In Once Upon an Algorithm, Martin Erwig explains computation as something that takes place beyond electronic computers, and computer science as the study of systematic problem solving. Erwig points out that many daily activities involve problem solving. Getting up in the morning, for example: You get up, take a shower, get dressed, eat breakfast. This simple daily routine solves a recurring problem through a series of well-defined steps. In computer science, such a routine is called an algorithm. Erwig illustrates a series of concepts in computing with examples from daily life and familiar stories. Hansel and Gretel, for example, execute an algorithm to get home from the forest. The movie Groundhog Day illustrates the problem of unsolvability; Sherlock Holmes manipulates data structures when solving a crime; the magic in Harry Potter's world is understood through types and abstraction; and Indiana Jones demonstrates the complexity of searching. Along the way, Erwig also discusses representations and different ways to organize data; "intractable" problems; language, syntax, and ambiguity; control structures, loops, and the halting problem; different forms of recursion; and rules for finding errors in algorithms. This engaging book explains computation accessibly and shows its relevance to daily life. Something to think about next time we execute the algorithm of getting up in the morning. | ||
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