The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle ...

Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. I write about fitness, health and wearable tech Algorithms have taken on an almost mythical significance in the modern world. They ...

If you want to solve a tricky problem, it often helps to get organized. You might, for example, break the problem into pieces and tackle the easiest pieces first. But this kind of sorting has a cost.