What I’m reading — 9 Algorithms that Changed the Future

An illustration of the Random Surfer framework Google’s founders used to create the world’s best search engine.

Ever wondered how Google delivers such consistently good search results? Or curious how basic data compression techniques prove there is such a thing as a free lunch? Oxford computer scientist John MacCormick’s 9 Algorithms that Changed the Future offers thorough-but-simple explanations to these questions, and makes you feel like a computer wiz for taking the time to read it.

You don’t need to be a tech geek to enjoy the book. In fact, bonafide tech geeks might not enjoy it — computer science majors would be too familiar with the topics it covers already for example. But to the inquisitive layman, 9 Algorithms is fun and empowering. It’s a reminder that computer science is less about software than it’s about efficiently and reproducibly solving problems. And it’s a welcome lesson that you don’t need a college degree in math or programming to grasp many of the critical advancements we’ve made in the field.

I won’t be writing the code for the next Google anytime soon, but the various problem-solving frameworks outlined in 9 Algorithms may come in handy elsewhere, and that’s good enough for me.