Algorithms to Live By

Leverage computer science to solve your problems

You can use solutions from computer science to solve problems in real life. These can be wide-ranging: from how to choose your soulmate, to when to choose a new restaurant vs your favourite.

Be it looking for a soulmate, or a secretary, or a house to rent — the process is the same. The catch though, is that you can’t go back and choose another once you’ve made a decision (or it’s very expensive to do so).

This problem of deciding how long to scan — and who to choose is the Optimal Stopping Problem.

This optimal number comes out to 37%.

How do you determine 37%? This could be on the time or the total number of candidates.

For example, searching for a soulmate — with your preferred age for looking between 20 and 32, the optimal age to leap comes at 24.5.
In this case, when you find someone better than anyone you’ve met after you’re 24.5 years old — marry them.

Imagine walking into a casino full of different slot machines, each one with its own odds of a payoff. You don’t know the odds in advance. Until you start playing, you won’t have any idea which machines are the most lucrative and which ones are money sinks.

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