computer science

In the Plex

In the Plex is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand In the Plex rather than just read about it. In short: In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives is a 2011 book by American technology reporter Steven Levy. It covers the growth of the Google company from its academic project origins at Stanford to the company that is rolling in billions of long-tail advertising dollars, forms the central exchange for information on the internet, having by then already grown to 24,000 employees.

Key takeaways

In the Plex belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect In the Plex to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of In the Plex from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

In The Plex: How Google Thinks, Works, and Shapes Our Lives is a 2011 book by American technology reporter Steven Levy. It covers the growth of the Google company from its academic project origins at Stanford to the company that is rolling in billions of long-tail advertising dollars, forms the central exchange for information on the internet, having by then already grown to 24,000 employees.

Synopsis

Contents The World According to Google: Biography of a Search Engine Googlenomics: Cracking the Code on Internet Profits Don't be Evil: How Google Built Its Culture Google's Cloud: Building Data Centers That Hold Everything Ever Written Outside the Box: The Google Phone Company and the Google TV Company GuGe: Google's Moral Dilemma in China Google.gov: is What's Good for Google, Good for Government --- or the Public? Epilogue: Chasing Taillights

Reception Siva Vaidhyanathan writes in The Washington Post: "Others have tried to make Google’s problem-solving processes intelligible and gripping. Levy has outdone them all. He has produced the most interesting book ever written about Google. He makes the biggest intellectual challenges of computer science seem endlessly fun and fascinating." Kirkus Reviews sums up the book as: "Outstanding reportage delivered in the upbeat, informative fashion for which Levy is well known."

References

External links Interview with Levy on In the Plex, April 6, 2011, C-SPAN

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with In the Plex

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what In the Plex claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to In the Plex before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about In the Plex ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of In the Plex

In research: In the Plex appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses In the Plex in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: In the Plex is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2011 non-fiction books, Books about Google, Books by Steven Levy, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for In the Plex outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

Affiliate

Preply — study more efficiently by working with a personal tutor. 50% off.

How to study In the Plex in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what In the Plex means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain In the Plex out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is In the Plex in simple terms?

Why does In the Plex matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study In the Plex?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on In the Plex.