The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer

By David Berlinski

Book Overview

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 G?del and Turing, The Advent of the Algorithm is an epic tale told with clarity and imaginative brilliance. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0151003386
• ISBN13: 9780151003389
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 1.47 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 6.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

I adore Berlinski

Not for the faint-hearted, this is my most favorite math read of all times. It should be, since it's been a difficult companion for more than five years. Nevertheless, the whipsmart Berlinski has an uncanny knack at making math make sexy sense for the nonsensical fraction-challenged. He invites passage into the deeper language that only a few really understand. I adore Berlinski and his book; await the simplicity that's certain...

Does Mathematics Support Darwin or Intelligent Design?

Mathematician David Berlinski explains how the "algorithm" is sure to play a major role in the future of mathematics. An algorithm, Berlinski explains, is essentially a logical, mathematical procedure by which a goal can be accomplished in a finite number of steps. After recounting the origin of the algorithm within mathematics, Berlinski explains that it is the algorithm which has made possible the physical sciences...

An intellectual and spiritual adventure

Quirky and quixotic, but often illuminating, this charming monograph brings to life the great thinkers who struggled to understand what may well be the most monumental achievement of the human intellect, the algorithm.Those expecting a detailed or formal description of what an algorithm is will be disappointed. It's not that kind of book.Those seeking insight into the power and limitations of mathematics and logic will find...

A highly original guide to a foundational concept

David Berlinski has delivered another fascinating tale of an underappreciated topic. What he did for the calculus he now does for the algorithm. The text preserves all of Berlinski's extravagant, quirky and sometimes difficult style, shifting between careful analysis, historical drama, insightful explanation, and obscure fictional aside. Readers will either love it or hate it. (I love it.)Unfortunately, some readers misunderstand...

mystery revealed

brilliant and exciting book which offers an extraordinary look at the world of calculus, A most for serious readers and the general public.