Woo Skin - Shop now
$5.99 with 73 percent savings
List Price: $21.99
$3.99 delivery April 21 - 24. Details
Or fastest delivery April 17 - 21. Details
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
$$5.99 () Includes selected options. Includes initial monthly payment and selected options. Details
Price
Subtotal
$$5.99
Subtotal
Initial payment breakdown
Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout.
Ships from
Windflower Bookstore
Windflower Bookstore
Ships from
Windflower Bookstore
Returns
30-day refund/replacement
30-day refund/replacement
This item can be returned in its original condition for a full refund or replacement within 30 days of receipt. You may receive a partial or no refund on used, damaged or materially different returns.
Read full return policy
Payment
Secure transaction
Your transaction is secure
We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. We don’t share your credit card details with third-party sellers, and we don’t sell your information to others. Learn more
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

David Berlinski
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer Paperback – May 3, 2001

by David Berlinski (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars 60 ratings
{"desktop_buybox_group_1":[{"displayPrice":"$5.99","priceAmount":5.99,"currencySymbol":"$","integerValue":"5","decimalSeparator":".","fractionalValue":"99","symbolPosition":"left","hasSpace":false,"showFractionalPartIfEmpty":true,"offerListingId":"QedbP0GpdCxDHrpYkNMjR%2BHjrMn2w%2BRLYrAX3q14dLxQiLBTavsFlW5s6SZJ7KPjeoXRKzeZGtXAnHbQ%2FLc5rCV2BtikDipBl03g%2BH15mZg%2B3wpYz%2BMM2I0Fe%2Bfa85vQFNeVvDRrvcNVuDm7DjHG1KgMDJO5GjUOUIEuj604D736hMw%2BmCBT9t6Ad40eBBEn","locale":"en-US","buyingOptionType":"NEW","aapiBuyingOptionIndex":0}]}

Purchase options and add-ons

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 Gödel and Turing, The Advent of the Algorithm is an epic tale told with clarity and imaginative brilliance.

  Report an issue with this product or seller
Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    368 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publication date
    May 3, 2001
  4. Dimensions
    7.98 x 5.45 x 0.95 inches
  5. ISBN-10
    0156013916
  6. ISBN-13
    978-0156013918
Next slide of product details

Frequently bought together

The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer
This item: The Advent of the Algorithm: The 300-Year Journey from an Idea to the Computer
$5.99
Get it Apr 21 - 24
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Windflower Bookstore.
+
The Devil's Delusion: Atheism and its Scientific Pretensions
$15.25
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Books-R-Keen.
+
A Tour of the Calculus
$16.67
Get it as soon as Thursday, Apr 17
Only 11 left in stock - order soon.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
Total price: $00
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Details
Added to Cart
Some of these items ship sooner than the others.
Show details Hide details
Choose items to buy together.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for The Advent of the Algorithm

"Berlinski has composed energetic, intertwined tales that make it nearly impossible for readers, once drawn in, to lose interest. . . . An uncommon achievement of both style and substance."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"A tour de force, this book gives intellectual dilemmas a human face, while restoring grandeur and mystery to a universe still too richly intricate to fit within a computer protocol."-Booklist (starred review)

"An extraordinary book . . . Making simple and accessible that which had previously been murky and intimidating is Berlinski's specialty."-Chicago Tribune

—

About the Author

David Berlinski is the author of three novels and four works of nonfiction, including the bestselling A Tour of the Calculus. Berlinski received his Ph.D. from Princeton University and is a regular contributor to Commentary and Forbes ASAP. He lives in Paris.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Mariner Books; Reprint edition (May 3, 2001)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 368 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0156013916
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0156013918
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.98 x 5.45 x 0.95 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 out of 5 stars 60 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
David Berlinski

David Berlinski

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read book recommendations and more.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
60 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Top reviews from the United States

  • Robert Covert
    5.0 out of 5 stars The Advent of the Algorithm
    Reviewed in the United States on January 5, 2024
    Verified Purchase
    The word “algorithm” is used often. George Gilder referred David Berlinski’s book to describe its essence, as only David can do. I was somewhat familiar with Berlinski, having read The Gift of Newton. I am almost finished and have The Tour of the Calculus waiting to be read.
    Helpful
     Report
  • seeker
    5.0 out of 5 stars I'm a Berlinski fan
    Reviewed in the United States on November 14, 2021
    Verified Purchase
    As a fan of other of Berlinski's writing I have high expectations for this one when I find time to read it. It's in my que.
    Helpful
     Report
  • David Ebbert
    5.0 out of 5 stars This book has proven to be a worthy read, ...
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    This book has proven to be a worthy read, especially in view of the mass appeal of artificial intelligence, and its possible over-reach in today's society.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Rob W.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in the United States on January 18, 2015
    Verified Purchase
    ALGORITHM is a concept Berlinski relates well. Book arrived just as described.
    Helpful
     Report
  • Marianne Bacon
    5.0 out of 5 stars they don't get him
    Reviewed in the United States on April 18, 2010
    Verified Purchase
    David Berlinski, like God, is under-appreciated. He is too subtle, too wonderful, and mostly beyond us.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Discovery Reviewer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Does Mathematics Support Darwin or Intelligent Design?
    Reviewed in the United States on June 21, 2006
    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. Turning his attention to molecular biology, and the genetic code specifically, Berlinski notes that algorithms are required to convert information from one set of symbols, the genetic code, into another set, the proteins. Berlinski believes these strings of information are far richer than analogous strings of information we find in say, a novel: "while Tolstoy's Anna Karenina can only suggest the woman, her black hair swept into a chignon, the same message, carrying the same meaning, when read by the right biochemical agencies, can bring the woman to vibrant and complaining life, reading now restored to its rightful place as a supreme act of creation" (pg. 290-291).

    Berlinski concludes on a philosophical note. While materialists like Steven Weinberg believe the universe is "pointless," other thinkers in history, such as William Paley, believe that the complexity of the natural world require us to ask deeper questions. Intelligence, Berlinski believes, can be explained by algorithm. This is seen in that the intelligence which authored his book (if Berlinski would consider himself intelligent) was created via the algorithms which convert DNA-information to living, breathing assemblies of proteins.

    From whence did this algorithm come? Berlinski analogizes from the reasoning of Kurt Gödel, who saw that law and chance alone would not be expected to produce an increase in complexity. Darwin's theory using blind natural selection acting upon chance mutations cannot account for the complexity of life as it has developed over time. Berlinski thinks that the rapid origin of biological complexity might require a process of "careful coordination and intelligent design" (pg. 321). Thus, science would be best to use the explanatory tools of law, chance, and the algorithm, which he calls "an intelligent artifact" (pg. 325). Applying Gödel's logic, complexity cannot be derived entirely from something simple. Complexity can be shifted, transferred, but the complexity in the universe can never provide a complete explanation for its own origin.
    9 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Donald Mitchell
    3.0 out of 5 stars A Frequently Unhelpful Attempt To Be Helpful
    Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2000
    From the book's introduction: "An algorithm is a finite procedure, written in a fixed symbolic vocabulary, governed by precise instructions, moving in discrete steps, 1, 2, 3, ..., whose execution requires no insight, cleverness, intuition, intelligence, or perspicuity, and that sooner or later comes to an end." Everyday examples include computer programs and the functioning of our genetic systems to produce aspects of life.
    Dr. Berlinski works from the conceptual questions and quests in philosophy (especially logic) and mathematics that led to the development of the mental concept of the algorithm that we know and think about consciously today. The path is an interesting one, and full of randomness and false leads. Like most progress, it is two steps forward and one step back.
    Today, use of algorithms is at the base of our most powerful forms of progress. For example, some classes of problems are all but impossible to solve and we use algorithms to create simulations that allow us to approximate the answers. Mathematicians can now solve vastly more classes of problems using computers than they ever could before, rapidly expanding our knowledge. The speed up in progress in many scientific areas is also related to the use of algorithms to ask and answer questions. For example, the human genome decoding was greatly accelerated by using computer-based decoding algorithms to locate the likely sections of meaningful DNA information.
    With so much intellectual richness and potential to work with, how did Dr. Berlinski end up with a 3 star instead of a 5 star rating from me?
    First of all, he has one of the most irritating writing styles I have ever had the displeasure to persist through. Most annoying were the long fictional diversions he uses to faintly illuminate minor aspects of the point that he is making. These are denoted by four shadowed boxes before and after them. My advice is, SKIP THESE SECTIONS! As your faithful reviewer, I read almost all of them. I found little to reward me in these sections, and much to annoy. I also resented the space that could have gone to better use. The second annoying characteristic was the overuse of symbolic logic and mathematical expressions. Long after the point was made, he was still wandering around filling in little nuances that added almost nothing to one's understanding of the development of algorithms and their development.
    The reason for deducting the second star was that he spent far too little time speculating on the future implications of algorithms. Dr. Berlinski is actually quite good in this area, and his writing on this aspect of the book is spare and effective. He also seems to have good ideas. Clearly, as new users of algorithms in the last few decades, we are only beginning to understand their implications. What a wonderful opportunity to inform our next quest! But alas, it was a too short trip in this book.
    I was tempted to grade the book down one more star for unnecessarily complicated explanations of symbolic logic conventions and of mathematical functions. I studied these areas in college, and the explanations I received then were much simpler, shorter, and clearer. Many people who are unfamiliar with these subjects will find the material here unnecessarily confusing. But then I realized that writing a book about algorithms is a brilliant concept, deserving of a star for itself. This negative and this positive canceled one another out, leaving me at 3 stars. Now your understand the algorithm I used to rate the book.
    The stories of Liebniz, Godel, and Turing were especially interesting for me. These were quite well told. If you cannot bear the whole book, be sure to look at these. You can use the index to find them.
    I hope someone with a better sense of what the reader would like to examine and how to communicate will follow this book with a better one on this subject.
    If you decide to read this book, despite its drawbacks, please use the experience to think about how you can simplify important communications in your life so they will be better understand and acted upon.
    43 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • DickB19
    4.0 out of 5 stars At his best, Berlinsky writes knowledgeably and beautifully about about the ...
    Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2018
    Verified Purchase
    At his best, Berlinsky writes knowledgeably and beautifully about about the abstract worlds of science and mathematicas; and the history (and biography) os scientific thinking and accomplishment. After a while, you learn to skip-over the the tedious, self-indulgent, passages.that detract from the power of stgriking images.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report