Algorithm: Difference between revisions

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Of particular interest in financial services:
Of particular interest in financial services:
*[[High-frequency trading]] computers follow [[algorithm]]s faster and more reliably than a mortal trader could dream of;
*[[High-frequency trading]] computers follow [[algorithm]]s faster and more reliably than a mortal trader could dream of;
*The {{t|dogma}} of [[outsourcing]] is predicated on a [[playbook]]; a form of [[algorithm for the meatware]].
*The dogma of [[outsourcing]] is predicated on a [[playbook]]; a form of [[algorithm for the meatware]].


Also of great interest to [[evolution]]ary biologists, psychiatrists and philosophers: According to {{author|Daniel Dennett}}, the great (if unstated) insight of {{author|Charles Darwin}}’s {{br|The Origin of Species}} was that the evolutionary process was a mindless, algorithmic one, that could operate without intervention. This made him a household name ([[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]], not Darwin) when he published {{br|Darwin’s Dangerous Idea}}.  
Also of great interest to [[evolution]]ary biologists, psychiatrists and philosophers: According to {{author|Daniel Dennett}}, the great (if unstated) insight of {{author|Charles Darwin}}’s {{br|The Origin of Species}} was that the evolutionary process was a mindless, algorithmic one, that could operate without intervention. This made him a household name ([[Daniel Dennett|Dennett]], not Darwin) when he published {{br|Darwin’s Dangerous Idea}}.  
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*[[Substance and form]]
*[[Substance and form]]
*[[Algorithm vs. heuristic]] - machine versus human
*[[Algorithm vs. heuristic]] - machine versus human
{{devil}}

Revision as of 08:38, 3 August 2020

The JC pontificates about technology
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An algorithm is a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer, or non-questioning drone in Bangalore. An algorithm’s success is predicated on all conundrums within its domain having been finally resolved, so it can operate without obstruction or intervention from a guiding intelligent hand.

Compare with a heuristic.

Of particular interest in financial services:

Also of great interest to evolutionary biologists, psychiatrists and philosophers: According to Daniel Dennett, the great (if unstated) insight of Charles Darwin’s The Origin of Species was that the evolutionary process was a mindless, algorithmic one, that could operate without intervention. This made him a household name (Dennett, not Darwin) when he published Darwin’s Dangerous Idea.

Dennett described it as “universal acid”, and it certainly seems to have burned through a few synapses in the management consulting industry. That piece of magic: that the something of rice pudding and income tax that could come from the nothing of primordial sludge, without a beneficent creator, is the basis behind the current dogmas of artificial intelligence, and the belief that no intelligence, let alone subject matter expertise, is needed to effectively run a complex process such as (for totally random example) the onboarding of trading counterparties in an investment bank.


See also

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