arunothia
Vancouver Public Library
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Added Apr 29, 2019
Algorithms to Live byAlgorithms to Live by, BookThe Computer Science of Human Decisions
by Christian, BrianBook - 2016Book, 2016
Added Apr 29, 2019
Comment:
In this book the authors explain famous algorithms in real world context.
My notes from this book -
(1) Optimal Stopping
(2) Old people don't lose memory - they have so much of it that it slows their system.
(3) Procrastination can be seen as an efficient scheduling problem with wrong priority.
(4) Predictive Models - Gaussian, Power Law, Erlang
(5) Over-fitting - "It really is true that a company will build whatever the CEO decides to measure".
(6) Penalize complexity - Occam's Razor Principle
(7) "A bit of conservative, a certain bias in favor of history, can buffer us against the boom and bust cycle of fads"
(8)Over-fitting Examples - Military Training, taste buds
(9) Early Stopping - Appropriate for Uncertainty
(10) "The prefect is the enemy of the good."
(11) Continuous Relaxation for discrete optimization.
(12) Lagrangian Relaxation - "You don't HAVE to obey the law. There are consequences to everything and you get to decide whether you want to face those.
(13) Random Sampling - Miller Rabin Primality Test
(14) Charity - GiveDirectly uses random samples of review
(15) Bloom filters for search engine crawls.
(16) Simulated Annealing - Random restart hill climbing.
(17) Randomness - heart of creativity?
(18) Networking - Circuit Switching -> Packet Switching
(19) Exponential backoff
(20) AIMD - Additive Increase Multiplicative Decrease, TCP's Sawtooth
(21) Game Theory - Price of Anarchy. Selfish routing only has 4/3 as it's price of Anarchy that's how internet is working fine (infact 33% close to optimal).
(22) Price of Anarchy is very high in case of Prisoner's Dilemma.
(23) Tragedy of Commons - Pollution, Climate Change, Number of Vacations employees use etc.,
(24) Game Theory - Information Cascade.
(25) Vickrey Auction
I recommend this book to all!In this book the authors explain famous algorithms in real world context.
My notes from this book -
(1) Optimal Stopping
(2) Old people don't lose memory - they have so much of it that it slows their system.
(3) Procrastination can be seen as an…
arunothia's rating:
Added Oct 25, 2018
Comment:
I really love Yuval Noah Harari's writing <3 Here are some interesting thoughts from this book that I would like to learn more about -
(1) Is human mind or consciousness just a by-product to the complex biochemical brain network? If yes, then it is probably too dangerous (or too silly) to take our thoughts seriously. If no, then probably the mind needs a LOT more understanding.
(2) Is "I" an imaginary story, just like gods, nations and money? If no, what is I? If yes, then that changes a LOT of things and probably we should equip ourselves more for this possibility.
(3) It is really very very alarming to think of the kind of changes we humans are making to the world around us. All the best minds of our time are focused on making machines process large and countless data that's inscrutable to human brain. Will this really lead to dataisms and a dystopian ending? If not, what are the alternatives? What can we do to steer this scientific curiosity in the right direction? If that is not in our hands, what else are we to do?
I highly recommend this book to everyone! Though, I would suggest that you read Sapiens before you start on this, that way you'll get more context to the author's writings.I really love Yuval Noah Harari's writing <3 Here are some interesting thoughts from this book that I would like to learn more about -
(1) Is human mind or consciousness just a by-product to the complex biochemical brain network? If yes, then it is…
arunothia's rating:
Added Sep 16, 2018
Comment:
I loved Lou, everything about her ♥️
I really wish the author had also written from Will's perspective! Only 3/5 because I felt Will's side of the story was not justified in the narration and his parents' emotions were almost entirely missing!
That said, this story will make you cry anyways.
If only each one of us loved like we only have a finite time left in this life because after all that's the truth isn't it? I kind of envy these love stories where there's a deadline till when their lives are filled with love and love alone! No small talks or silly fights and no worrying about trivial things. That's how our lives are supposed to be I guess but just like everything else, we humans simply won't take things that matter to us seriously unless there's a known deadline :/ I recommend this book to anyone looking for shedding some tears over a love story!I loved Lou, everything about her ♥️
I really wish the author had also written from Will's perspective! Only 3/5 because I felt Will's side of the story was not justified in the narration and his parents' emotions were almost entirely…
So Long, and Thanks for All the FishSo Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, Book
by Adams, DouglasBook - 1984Book, 1984
arunothia's rating:
Added Sep 16, 2018
Comment:
This one wasn't funny and was very randomly constructed even for Douglas Adam's standards. I liked it though :p
Life, the Universe, and EverythingLife, the Universe, and Everything, Book
by Adams, DouglasBook - 1982Book, 1982
arunothia's rating:
Added Jul 23, 2018
Comment:
The first half is very slow and boring, but towards the end you'll be glad you read through :D
arunothia's rating:
Added May 01, 2018
Comment:
Half way through, I believed this book was the usual romance stuff and had even mentally prepared myself to give it a bad rating.
The rest of the book changed everything.
arunothia's rating:
Added Apr 26, 2018
Comment:
Woah! The BEST thriller I have read so far. It has a very interesting narrative style with a web of ingeniously connected plot lines. Every character is well defined that you will be living in the world created by the author in no time. I recommend it to all mystery/thriller lovers.Woah! The BEST thriller I have read so far. It has a very interesting narrative style with a web of ingeniously connected plot lines. Every character is well defined that you will be living in the world created by the author in no time. I recommend…
The Restaurant at the End of the UniverseThe Restaurant at the End of the Universe, Book
by Adams, DouglasBook - 1980Book, 1980
arunothia's rating:
Added Apr 20, 2018
Comment:
How can I possibly like something as random and insane like The Restaurant at the End of the Universe :P? It really puzzles me how I love this writing. The utter nonsense presented as if it has some profound meaning hidden to it, in essence explains our life I guess. Wait, that actually makes this book deep doesn't it?How can I possibly like something as random and insane like The Restaurant at the End of the Universe :P? It really puzzles me how I love this writing. The utter nonsense presented as if it has some profound meaning hidden to it, in essence explains…
arunothia's rating:
Added Apr 16, 2018
Comment:
I would be lying if I said I could fully empathize Audre's struggles because being a black lesbian woman is something that's beyond my experiences. But reading this book is such a blessing because Audre speaks from her experiences and such a wisdom is definitely precious. The Eye-Eye chapter, in which she addresses the unsettling clashes between black women themselves made me understand several things about my own self as a woman. Very often than not, women treat each other as threat, not out of a conscious choice but out of a long history of brain washing that a women is worth only the Man she manages to get. Many such subtle realities of sexism or any "ism" in general can be understood better by reading this book. I was this person (way back in high school), who believed that Gays/Lesbians are just desperate people making stupid choices. I never intended this thought as an offence to anyone, I genuinely believed in it. Why? Because, I neither had met these people nor did the people around me correct me at this stage. Why? It's simply because our society either prefers silence or outright ridicule (that I have such stupid thoughts) than preferring a healthy dialogue in teaching each other about our misconceptions and growing out of it (though it did happen to me later in college, I think I just got lucky to be with better people). The following lines from Audre is movingly powerful -
" We can learn to work and speak when we are afraid in the same way we have learned to work and speak when we are tired. For we have been socialized to respect fear more than our own needs for language and definition, and while we wait in silence for that final luxury of fearlessness, the weight of that silence will choke us."
I recommend this book to all.I would be lying if I said I could fully empathize Audre's struggles because being a black lesbian woman is something that's beyond my experiences. But reading this book is such a blessing because Audre speaks from her experiences and such a wisdom…
Stories of your Life and OthersStories of your Life and Others, Book
by Chiang, TedBook - 2002Book, 2002
arunothia's rating:
Added Apr 05, 2018
Comment:
Woah! I definitely think his stories are way better than the Black Mirror episodes I have watched. Ted Chiang is brilliant in his imagination. He has done a great background research work and narrates each of his Novum with such conviction that you'll get into the world he creates in no time. I recommend it to all lovers of Science Fiction.Woah! I definitely think his stories are way better than the Black Mirror episodes I have watched. Ted Chiang is brilliant in his imagination. He has done a great background research work and narrates each of his Novum with such conviction that…
arunothia's rating:
Added Mar 28, 2018
Comment:
I love it when beautiful thoughts are hidden in a kid's novel!
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn't forget it. You become responsible forever for what you've tamed. You're responsible for your rose.. "I love it when beautiful thoughts are hidden in a kid's novel!
"Anything essential is invisible to the eyes. It's the time you spent on your rose that makes your rose so important. People have forgotten this truth. But you mustn't forget it. You…
arunothia's rating:
Added Mar 26, 2018
Comment:
Such a beautiful writing this one is ❤️ I recommend it to all!
arunothia's rating:
Added Mar 26, 2018
Comment:
It's a non linear narration that takes us through the thoughts of a girl who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Along with developing empathy to people with mental disorders, reading this enables us to see (disturbingly in every way), that we too lack a mastery over our minds (Our ego of course claims otherwise) and that being "insane" is not so well defined as we might like to believe. It's amazing that the author could grow so much in her life!
I'm giving it only 3/5 because the narration didn't really get to me because of it's non-linearity.It's a non linear narration that takes us through the thoughts of a girl who was diagnosed with Borderline Personality Disorder. Along with developing empathy to people with mental disorders, reading this enables us to see (disturbingly in every…
arunothia's rating:
Added Mar 26, 2018
Comment:
I'm so glad I started my year with this book! It is super beautifully written, spanning over the full life time of the two leads. When we have a narrative that's from the perspective of 2 leads who are intense rivals, we unconsciously realize the truth that everyone's beautiful and it's just that our brain doesn't get access to enough data to understand this fact in the real world. I loved it. I recommend it to everyone!I'm so glad I started my year with this book! It is super beautifully written, spanning over the full life time of the two leads. When we have a narrative that's from the perspective of 2 leads who are intense rivals, we unconsciously realize the…
Comment: