Author:Luke Dormehl
What if everything in life could be reduced to a simple formula? What if numbers were able to tell us which partners we were best matched with – not just in terms of attractiveness, but for a long-term committed marriage? Or if they could say which films would be the biggest hits at the box office, and what changes could be made to those films to make them even more successful? Or even who out of us is likely to commit certain crimes, and when? This may sound like the world of science-fiction, but in fact it is just the tip of the iceberg in a world that is increasingly ruled by complex algorithms and neural networks.
In The Formula, Luke Dormehl takes you inside the world of numbers, asking how we came to believe in the all-conquering power of algorithms; introducing the mathematicians, artificial intelligence experts and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who are shaping this brave new world, and ultimately asking how we survive in an era where numbers can sometimes seem to create as many problems as they solve.
A persuasive, timely interrogation of one of our age's most dangerous assumptions: that information is the same as understanding, and that everything which counts can be counted.
—— Tom Chatfield, author of Netymology and How to Thrive in the Digital AgeThis is exactly the type of book we need to be reading as society considers the computerized control of nearly all the systems that affect our lives.
—— Chris Dannen, Fast CompanyA smart and thoughtful overview of algorithms and how they affect our daily lives.
—— John P. Kelley, President and CEO of Blackstone DiscoveryAs much the chronicle of an inner journey as it is the learned recording of an unfamiliar territory...a timeless account
—— IndependentAn evocative account of a remote and timeless place and its people
—— Sunday TimesA magical book: a kind of lunar paradigm and map of the sacred-The book has transcended the usual limits of language
—— Jim Harrison , NationWitty, surprising writing ... There is his delight in detail, a talent for dismantling myths, but most importantly an ability to build a coherent and entertaining theory from an apparent contradiction that all cat-lovers will recognise: we seek to understand cats even though it is our lack of understanding that makes us love them
—— HeraldStaggeringly, brilliantly, indispensably useful.
—— Joshua Wolf ShenkIntelligent, interesting and well written … His story is a good window on the crazy history of the field …Bravely and admirably done.
—— New YorkerMy Age of Anxiety is a mine of information and extensive soul-searching. For contemporary readers, especially those beset with anxiety, it will prove an invaluable resource.
—— Literary ReviewTerrific…an unsparing and unsentimental look at a subject many keep hidden: mental illness.
—— Nature magazine[A] fascinating, page-turning book, with Stossel interspersing facts with personal experiences, as well as stories about famous names who have suffered from the condition and snippets of information he has received from the many therapists he's seen over the years. This is a captivating and insightful look at anxiety.
—— Press Association, 4/5 stars[An] informed and authoritative but personal overview of a debilitating condition
—— MetroStossel writes a well thought out, in-depth analysis of the history of anxiety disorders in modern times.
—— The Bookbag[A] full and frank account
—— Access magazine[A] wonderful book
—— Yahoo UK
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