"For centuries, mathematics has quietly powered the engines of progress. But in today's algorithm-driven economy - where hedge funds trade in nanoseconds, platforms predict our desires, and AI curates our attention - math has become something more: a source of power. As mathematician and author Noah Giansiracusa puts it, "We're in a world where math is power." In his new book Robin Hood Math: Take Control of the Algorithms That Run Your Life,"
"Tech companies didn't become trillion-dollar empires because they knew books, photos, or friends, Giansiracusa argues. They rose because they mastered math. "Amazon didn't win because they know books really well," he says. "They know math really well." The same is true of Facebook, TikTok, and every company optimizing engagement, logistics, or pricing. Yet the rest of us rarely get a glimpse of how these algorithms work."
Mathematics underlies the algorithms that drive today’s economy, enabling optimization of engagement, logistics, pricing, and rapid financial trading. Corporations gain dominance by applying mathematical techniques rather than by domain expertise alone, creating a knowledge gap between engineers and the public. Many people, including policymakers and journalists, lack clarity about what an algorithm is, its data, and its code, which produces power imbalances. Treating algorithms as mathematical recipes allows individuals to analyze, question, and sometimes outsmart them. Teaching accessible, non-dumbing-down mathematical tools can turn anxiety about technology into practical empowerment and agency over algorithmic systems.
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