This book has been one of the MOST challenging books to work through. I had tried going through this book many times in the past but could not get past the first 10 pages of the book. The very first concept that is mentioned in the book is the extension of measure from a semi-algebra to a sigma algebra. The proof was just beyond me for the simple reason that my fundamentals were shaky.

The author starts off his book using the example of flash crash and an e-bay bidding algo wreaking havoc. He cites these examples as an indication of the extent to which multiple algos dedicated to ONE single task, i.e.bots, are being used in various domains. Obviously the start of algos and heightened excitement for it came from Wall Street. But the author tries to give a journalistic account of all the various places where bots are being used.

Via Forbes Alvin Roth sees plenty of ways economics can make a difference in people’s lives. In contrast with the authors of bestselling books like Freakonomics, who are fascinated by obscure but intriguing questions like how to detect cheating by sumo wrestlers, Roth relishes real-world challenges. “Some say economics has all kinds of good tools and techniques, but it has an absence of interesting problems,” notes Roth, 58, who holds a joint appointment in the Harvard economics department and the business school.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aC7cW5fU1IU?rel=0]

“In mathematics, you don’t understand things. You just get used to them." -- Johann von Neumann