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What a wonderful book. I picked up a copy after I saw Hannah Fry's talk at EMF discussing algorithms and how they used pigeons to detect breast cancer, so I couldn't wait to read the book once it came out. I read it over two days and it did not disappoint. I loved that the final chapters covered how Bayesian theory is being used to improve AI. The book is well written and easily understood by a lay-person and no background knowledge is needed.
I loved the book and would highly recommend this for anyone interested in data, statistics or AI. This book would also be well suited for anyone wanted to better understand how we can make better decisions and the benefits and limitations of the use of algorithms.
This was a fantastic book. Very well written and covered a broad history of codes and cryptography, and also well suited to a lay-audience, as it included worked examples. I found the beginning few chapters a little slow and drier than the rest of the book, and thoroughly enjoyed the chapters on lost languages like ancient Egyptian and the Linear B tablets. The last chapter about the future of cryptography, looking at quantum computing was interesting but hard to imagine how it would work in practice. I liked the inclusion of a competition at the end of the book.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the book and would highly recommend it to anyone interested in cryptography, secret codes and also anyone interested in computer security.
