Algorithmics, Social choice, Market Design, and Other Topics

My supervisor Mike Paterson's overhang solution has made it to the New Scientist. Enjoy !

I have reviewed the book on Algorithmic aspects of graph connectivity by Nagamochi and Ibaraki. The book is part of the Cambridge Encyclopedia of Mathematics and its Applications Series. Both authors seem to be continuing the good work on graph theory and Boolean functions by the late Peter Hammer .

Marcus du Sautoy (author of The Music of Primes ) has replaced Richard Dawkins as the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science . Having heard du Sautoy at a number of occasions he is a suitable choice as he is good at conveying the excitement of mathematics.

Dan Herman has an interesting take on online trust and reputation.

David Lindley has an essay on computational complexity in the latest issue of the CACM.

It seems that topics like internet economics, game theory and social choice are becoming mainstream in prominent theory conferences. Metoo in a recent entry titled 'ICALP 09 (Track C) ' points out that ICALP has a Track C called the 'Foundations of Networked Computation: Models, Algorithms and Information Management'. Topics include: Algorithmic Aspects of Networks Auctions Computing with Incentives E-commerce, Privacy, Spam Formal Methods for Network Information Management Foundations of Trust and Reputation in Networks Internet Algorithmics Mobile and Wireless Networks Models of Complex Networks Models and Algorithms for Global Computing Models of Mobile Computation Networks Economics Networks of Low Capability Devices Overlay Networks and P2P Systems Social Networks Specification, Semantics, Synchronization of Networked Systems Theory of Security in Networks and Distributed Computing Web Searching, Ranking Web Mining and Analysis

I am currently in the middle of Malcolm Gladwell's famous book ' The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference '. Gladwell is not only a brilliant thinker and observer but also writes in an engaging fashion. Gladwell has a new book coming up. It it is half as good as 'Tipping Point' it should provide enjoyable bed time reading.