TED-Ed

View full lesson: http://ed.ted.com/lessons/what-s-the-fastest-way-to-alphabetize-your-bookshelf-chand-john You work at the college library. You’re in the middle of a quiet afternoon when suddenly, a shipment of 1,280 books arrives. The books are in a straight line, but they're all out of order, and the automatic sorting system is broken. How can you sort the books quickly? Chand John shows how, shedding light on how algorithms help librarians and search engines speedily sort information. Lesson by Chand John, animation by Anton Trofimov.