Algorithms To Live By

Algorithms To Live By explains how computer algorithms work, why their relevancy isn’t limited to the digital world and how you can make better decisions by strategically using the right algorithm at the right time, for example in dating, at home or in the office.

Einstein was notoriously known as a walking source of chaos, and he’s famously credited with saying:

“If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?” – Albert Einstein

I keep my desk clean as a whistle, and I always find myself to be the exception, but if you’re more like Einstein and prefer a decent amount of organized chaos, then this will be comforting: there’s order in chaos too, so if within your various piles of paper you can find everything rather quickly, why stress about organizing?

However, when you’re moving houses or can’t walk around your bed any more, because everything’s cramped in your home, a sorting algorithm might be in order. The next time you clean up, try using one of these three:

Bubble sort. We coded this one in college. Basically, you only ever compare two items at a time and put them in the right order, going through all pairs of items one by one and swap them if their order is wrong. Once you’re through the list, start over until you don’t have to swap anything any more. Perfect for sorting books! Insertion sort. This is less incremental, making you take out all items to be organized and then inserting them in the right order. This is ideal for organizing your wardrobe. Merge sort. I hope you only have to use this one when you move. It works by dividing all of your collections into multiple piles, sorting the piles (for example by room), and then re-assembling the sorted piles to get a full solution.

Pretty cool, huh?

Do you know the frustration when managing your time becomes a waste of time in itself? When you look at the clock and realize you’ve spent two hours organizing your day, which means now you won’t have enough time left to take care of everything you’ve set out to do? I’ve been there. That sucks. Luckily, you can use algorithms to save time on this! Here are three in particular: Earliest Due Date. With this, you sort all of your tasks by deadlines and start with the one that’s due next. This way, you’ll make sure you won’t run into any time issues. Moore’s Algorithm. If it’s too late for Earliest Due Date, because you already know you won’t make it all in time, skip the task that takes the longest…