Algorithms - (MIT Press Essential Knowledge) by Panos Louridas (Paperback)

About the Book

"This book is an introduction to algorithms targeting an audience with little to no computer science background. In this book, algorithms from a wide area are presented: from music to searching and sorting, to deep learning, to graphs. The author shows how algorithms are used in practice. A unique feature of the book is that it focuses on showing how algorithms really work; not just what algorithms can do. There are many books discussing that and delving in technological applications and their implications. The book aims to show not just what algorithms can do, but how they do it. Louridas covers a wide range of algorithms. He does not shy away from classic algorithms such as searching and sorting, as they are the workhorses of most applications; at the same time, he also covers a wide expanse, such as algorithms in music, non-traditional searching (like the secretary problem), graphs, and the PageRank algorithm. He introduces deep learning, showing how it works in practice, and gives an overview of the limits of computability. He finishes up the text with an eclectic discussion of implications. Most books on algorithms are either too technical, or not technical at all - showing what the algorithms do, without showing how. This book aims at striking a balance between the two methods. Algorithms should be, and can be explained, in simple terms. To repeat, an algorithm should be explained so that a human can execute it with a pen and paper"--

Book Synopsis

An accessible introduction to algorithms, explaining not just what they are but how they work, with examples from a wide range of application areas.

Digital technology runs on algorithms, sets of instructions that describe how to do something efficiently. Application areas range from search engines to tournament scheduling, DNA sequencing, and machine learning. Arguing that every educated person today needs to have some understanding of algorithms and what they do, in this volume in the MIT Press Essential Knowledge series, Panos Louridas offers an introduction to algorithms that is accessible to the nonspecialist reader. Louridas explains not just what algorithms are but also how they work, offering a wide range of examples and keeping mathematics to a minimum.

After discussing what an algorithm does and how its effectiveness can be measured, Louridas covers three of the most fundamental applications areas: graphs, which describe networks, from eighteenth-century problems to today's social networks; searching, and how to find the fastest way to search; and sorting, and the importance of choosing the best algorithm for particular tasks. He then presents larger-scale applications: PageRank, Google's founding algorithm; and neural networks and deep learning. Finally, Louridas describes how all algorithms are nothing more than simple moves with pen and paper, and how from such a humble foundation rise all their spectacular achievements.

About the Author

Panos Louridas is Associate Professor in the Department of Management Science and Technology at the Athens University of Economics and Business. He is the author of Real World Algorithms: A Beginner's Guide (MIT Press).