(Original Review, 2012-08-04)





There has been a long tradition of defining intelligence to be whatever machines can't do at the time. The recent book "Automate This: How Algorithms came to rule our world" by Christopher Steiner gives a good overview of many of the fields in which computers have achieved or surpassed human performance, whether in game play [2018 EDIT: (Chess (Deep Blue), Jeopardy (Watson))], medical prescriptions (diagnosis and fulfillment) or even music (judging potential, composing).

 

 

 

If you're into stuff like this, you can read the full review.

*I requested to review a copy of this audiobook for an honest review from the author.

The Cursed are hunted by "His" soldiers. People turn in Cursed to "His" soldiers for a hefty reward. The Cursed are removed from their loved ones. If they run, they are killed.

Silas has flashes of a past he doesn't remember. He physically reacts in ways he doesn't understand how he body knows to do it. When he finally sobers and remembers pieces of what he's forgotten, a wife that left him and that he's a murder, Silas becomes determined to avenge the lives he took as that man acting on orders of another. Silas will learn what he can of "Him" and put an end to the cruel reign, even if it's killing the ruler of their land.

Eryn is fourteen and is Cursed. She doesn't see it as a curse but something that could help people. But now she's hunted for what she can do. She's promised her mother she would survive, and that's what she's determined to do. She's determined, more than ever after losing her family to "His" soldiers, to stop "Him", to take everything from "Him".

I had the great pleasure of listening to this book. First, Jeff is such an amazing talent in voices. I could listen to this story to hear his work even if I didn't like the story, which I did enjoy it. At the beginning, I loved the lead in with reading of the title page in the lilt of the character. There was music that set the stage for the story, making me all the more excited to get going with the story. Jeff is talented with his voice variation and putting it all together seamless as to create a piece of work that's fun to listen to. He adds the echo of calls, voices around the character, or laughter of many. I do love these small extras added to the story. The best part, we get the story in the Irish lilt of the setting and characters accents. It's clear to understand the words and gives a feel to the world they are in.

The descriptions Forbes uses as he tells the story are like I'm listening to the sounds and seeing the world through the eyes of the characters. The writing didn't feel boring to me as we come to trouble after trouble with Silas and Eryn. There is something new at each turn, growing the world as we go.

Forbes has created an enticing story that we learn about the characters along side them through their battles, internal and external. Silas is a drunk who can't remember his past, and is good with that. Until he sobers up by accident. His body reacts to a threat in a way he never thought he knew how to. Their are accusations made of him. And he starts to remember as his body fights through withdrawal. As he travels and remembers more, we learn the pieces with him. Eryn is cursed and has no idea what that means for her. Eryn learns about the cursed as she travels with a growing determination to end the deaths of the Cursed and their loved ones, for her lost loved ones. These two pair up in a team that feels like a father/daughter relationship, and accept each other for their faults.

We learn about the Cursed as Silas and Eryn do in the book. It's catching when you learn how it all fits together. In the end we get the full explanation of the Cursed and what it is. It's a sort of magic that the people can do. But there is so much more to it and what "He" is hiding.

This book has a conclusion for the journey of Silas and Eryn to learn of the Curse, it does not end on a major cliffhanger. There is still fighting to be done and I'm looking forward to the series as they fight "His" armies. I'm curious about "Him" and what will come of the Cursed.

Yes! I will be looking for the rest of the series!

The Formula: How Algorithms Solve All Ou... Algorithms are a systematic set of rules for handling complex processes often using a recursive methodology (the routine calls itself). The author doesn't really define algorithm this way but he mostly appeals to examples that involve pattern recognition or some kind of sorting of subsets into their most common elements and associates the correlations between those subsets.

He gives good examples on the state of algorithms in use today and how they aid us in our decision making (just think Google's search engine). He gives an example how the programmers got it wrong in creating an algorithm for social aid in Colorado. The program thought only homeless people deserved medical coverage for the poor and other such poor interruptions of policy.

The author seems to think that "human intuition" can trump an algorithm. That just seems too naive and his examples in the book were never really convincing. Poor programming of misunderstood policy will lead to bad results, but the algorithm can be improved. A good algorithm can save lives and make better decisions (often with human interaction).

Google knows what I want to search for before I do, and Amazon recommends books better than I can, their algorithms are very good. Humans have there place with their intuitions, but a good tool can be a priceless aid. They're not perfect, but they continually get better. Watson beat the best Jeopardy contestants in the country using its algorithm. As Ken Jennings said "I, for one, welcome our computer overlords" as he answered the final question while losing badly.

A book about Algorithms should be keeping the listener on the edge of his seat. This book did no such thing. There wasn't really one thing in the book that I didn't already know (I lie. Will Smith uses patterns of recent Hollywood Blockbusters to determine his next movie is something I did not know. I don't care for Hollywood Blockbusters and that fact had escaped me).

If you have any interest in Algorithms (and who among us doesn't?), I would recommend one of these three recent Audbile books that I have listen to instead, "Dataclysm", a book on big data, and big data allows for the pattern recognition and sorting that's mentioned in this book; "The Second Machine Age", tells what's really going on with algorithms now and how society is changing because of it; and one of my favorites, "Superintelligence", tells where we will end up because of the recursive algorithm.

Although there were a few historical tidbits that were interesting, this book is effectively a tour of how "algorithms" are bringing new efficiencies to many different fields... maybe one day YOURS! <<<cue dramatic music>>> Maybe enlightening to the buggy whip manufacturers out there, but not exactly breaking news for the rest of us.

At the end of the 8th chapter there is a paragraph or two of _actual_ critical thinking about algorithm-based business operations, but otherwise this book is basically the work of a Matrix-apologist, cheering on the victory of our machine overlords.

Awesome easy digestion of the many ways algorithms are being used in our world. highly recommend this read.