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Preface

People talk about AI, VR, AR, etc. these days. Each term has a deep scientific meaning

and sociopolitical connotation for the user of these words and the people they are dir­

ected to. It is simply amazing to see how loosely these terms are used and interpreted

today. For example, the A in the AI stands for artificial. While people generally under­

stand that AI is artificial intelligence, I have come across a variety of ways that people

perceive “artificial”. Is it the capability of a machine to figure out a problem? Or is it

an ability for a device to do a task? The fact is neither—​AI is a computer science term

intended to mean the ability of machines to develop “intelligence” much the same

way as humans—​the capability to “learn”.

In this book, I want to introduce a new concept—​augmented common sense (ACS).

This is in effect the opposite of AI in some sense—​it is the ability of humans to

develop common sense with the help of machines! Simple concept. Powerful impli­

cations for your specific universe—​I deliberately chose the word “universe” because

I did not want to limit the vast number of situations the average human goes through.

Work. Leisure. Entertainment. Exercise. Nurture. Innovate. Contribute. These are all

situations that require humans to apply their common sense.

The materials presented here will help you to strengthen your logic and develop

your ability to write simple programs to automate your tasks. While there are innu­

merable ways that a human endeavor can be improved, I will be discussing how this

can be achieved through the use of spreadsheets. You will need:

• A computer

• Microsoft Office (any version)

• Your basic skill in working with a spreadsheet

• Your desire to learn programming

The last one is scary for some and easy for others. This book is intended for those

who want to be inspired to develop their ACS through programming and discover the

beauty of logic—​the happiness of solving a riddle.

After reading this book, I hope to have elevated your appreciation of program­

ming. But that is just a side effect. My main objective is to entertain. To help you

see the beauty of common sense and to appreciate how simple computing can make

mundane tasks interesting.

I am going to begin with a discussion on algorithms and quickly transition into

some real-​life examples that are both entertaining and useful. Starting with a program

on how to play Tic Tac Toe with the computer, I am going to describe a few other

interesting problems hoping to inspire you to try your own. The last chapter is a more

complex discussion on writing a program to draw a COVID graph of USA—​devel­

oped from the common question that we found ourselves hurled into in 2020, during

the tough pandemic days.