The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

Mathematician Prof Marcus Du Sautoy demystifies the hidden world of algorithms. By showing us some of the algorithms most essential to our lives, he reveals where these two-thousand year old problem solvers came from; how they work, what they have achieved and how they are now so advanced they can even programme themselves.

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Without us noticing, modern life has been taken over. Algorithms run everything from search engines on the internet, to sat navs and credit card data security – they even help us travel the world, find love and save lives.