Core Insights
Mathematics is not abstract theory — it's a tool for solving real problems. Wu Jun demonstrates this through concrete cases in information processing, search engines, and natural language processing.
Chapter 1: Boolean Algebra & Search Engines
Key Points:
- Boolean algebra is the foundation of computer science
- It combines logic and mathematics
- Search engine indexing is built on Boolean algebra
Three Basic Operations:
- AND - narrows search results
- OR - expands search results
- NOT - excludes specific results
Chapter 2: Cosine Theorem & News Classification
Key Formula:
Cosine Similarity = cos(θ) = (A·B) / (|A| × |B|)
Applications:
- News aggregation
- Recommendation systems
- Spam filtering
Chapter 3: Hidden Markov Models
Used for:
- Sequence labeling problems
- Speech recognition
- Natural language processing
Two Assumptions:
- Homogeneous Markov property
- Observation independence
My Takeaways
- Beauty in Simplicity - The simplest math tools often solve the most complex problems
- Theory + Practice - Wu Jun has both theoretical depth and Google实战 experience
- Cross-disciplinary Thinking - Math + CS + Linguistics creates enormous value
Reading in progress. More notes to come.
Book Info:
- Title: The Beauty of Mathematics (数学之美)
- Author: Wu Jun (吴军)
- Edition: 2nd Edition
- Reading Date: March 30, 2026
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