Update - 22 January 2022
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Harwell Book Club – February 2026
March 11 @ 12:15 pm - 1:00 pm
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Join us for the next Harwell Book Club session, held in collaboration with Be Free Young Carers, with the book Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths.
Come along to the Campus Community Library space in Quad One at 12:15 on Wednesday 11th March for discussions.
Click the button below to be directed to the Member of the Future app to secure your place at the next book club session.
Description:
What should we do, or leave undone, in a day or a lifetime? How much messiness should we accept? What balance of the new and familiar is the most fulfilling? These may seem like uniquely human quandaries, but they are not. Computers, like us, confront limited space and time, so computer scientists have been grappling with similar problems for decades. And the solutions they’ve found have much to teach us.
In a dazzlingly interdisciplinary work, Brian Christian and Tom Griffiths show how algorithms developed for computers also untangle very human questions. They explain how to have better hunches and when to leave things to chance, how to deal with overwhelming choices and how best to connect with others. From finding a spouse to finding a parking spot, from organising one’s inbox to peering into the future, Algorithms to Live By transforms the wisdom of computer science into strategies for human living.
Click the button below to be directed to the Member of the Future app to secure your place at the next book club session.
How It Works
Sign Up: Register to join the book club on the Member of the Future app by Friday 27th February (you may register after this date but we can’t guarantee a book).
Collect Your Book: We’ll provide the book. Simply pick it up from Quad Two reception from Thursday 5th February. We have limited copies available on a first come, first serve basis. You are welcome to source your own book if preferred.
Read & Discuss: You’ll have 5 weeks to read the book before we meet for our discussion over lunch in Quad One on Wednesday 11th March. We’ll provide pizza, or feel free to bring your own lunch. Each session will last for 45 minutes.
About Be Free Young Carers:
Based on campus, Be Free Young Carers is the only charity in Oxfordshire dedicated to supporting children aged 8–17 with caregiving responsibilities for a family member. They’re passionate about learning and growing through books, and can’t wait to connect with other readers on campus.
The book club will be led by Hannah, one of their fundraisers. If you love discussing business and self-development books, we want to see you there.
