Synopsis

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.

Further Information

More clips from The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

Computer sorting algorithms | The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

BBC Four | 2015 | 1'33''

Marcus du Sautoy demystifies the hidden world of algorithms and how perfect they are for computer...

Face recognition algorithm | The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

BBC Four | 2015 | 1'11''

Marcus du Sautoy explains how a face recognition algorithm works, like one on your camera phone.

Google's PageRank | The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

BBC Four | 2015 | 3'38''

Marcus du Sautoy explains the PageRank algorithm that was at the heart of Google's beginnings as a search e...

Machine learning algorithm | The Secret Rules of Modern Living: Algorithms

BBC Four | 2015 | 2'41''

Marcus du Sautoy meets Chris Bishop who is keen to make algorithms that can learn as humans can. C...