Preface Algorithms can be found in almost any discipline from biology to economics to computer science and therefore have a huge range of applications. There are two components to the “algorithmic enterprise” 1) the task of getting to the mathematically clean core of a problem and 2) the task of identifying the appropriate algorithm design techniques, based on the structure of the problem. Interacting together, we can use algorithmic ideas to both ask questions and find answers in the world. I would only rate the preface a 6 because it really didn't tell me anything I didn't already know.