The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms
Marcus du Sautoy demystifies the hidden world of algorithms, revealing where these 2,000-year-old problem-solvers came from, how they work and what they have achieved.
Without us noticing, modern life has been taken over. Algorithms run everything from search engines on the internet to satnavs and credit card data security - they even help us travel the world, find love and save lives.
Mathematician Professor 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 2,000-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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They set our insurance premiums, match donor kidneys with patients and so much more.
Clips
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Battle of the algorithms
Duration: 03:29
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What are algorithms?
Duration: 01:53
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How does Google work?
Duration: 03:41
Credits
| Role | Contributor |
|---|---|
| Presenter | Marcus du Sautoy |
| Executive Producer | Paul Overton |
| Director | David Briggs |
Broadcasts
- Thu 24 Sep 2015 21:00
- Fri 25 Sep 2015 03:00
- Wed 30 Sep 2015 02:00
- Wed 18 Jan 2017 23:30
- Mon 30 Oct 2017 22:30
- Thu 28 Feb 2019 23:00
- Wed 12 Oct 2022 20:00
- Thu 13 Oct 2022 02:55
Learn more about Algorithms and other digital advances with a free information pack from The Open University
Discover about Computers, Women in Computing, Calculating Devises and Coding.