{"product_id":"local-optimization-alvitta-ottley-9798996764402","title":"Local Optimization","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if one of the best ways to navigate life's uncertainty came from computer science?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMost of us are taught that successful lives begin with a plan. Set a goal, chart the course, and stay the path. But life rarely unfolds that way. Most important decisions are made with incomplete information, unexpected opportunities, and no guarantee we are heading in the right direction.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhile researching how people make decisions under uncertainty, Alvitta Ottley recognized something unexpected: the computer science principles she studied had described her own life all along. \u003cstrong\u003eLocal optimization\u003c\/strong\u003e means making the best decision you can with the information available now.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eFrom working as a bank teller to pay for college, to leaving home for an unfamiliar university, stumbling into research, changing directions throughout academia, earning tenure, and continually redefining success, Ottley reflects on the unexpected choices that shaped a life she never could have planned.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePart memoir and part reflection on ambition, identity, and uncertainty, \u003cem\u003eLocal Optimization\u003c\/em\u003e is not a roadmap for achieving more. It is an invitation to rethink success, embrace the unexpected, and discover that uncertainty isn't a detour from a meaningful life; it may be the path itself.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Alvitta Ottley\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9798996764402\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Island Scholar Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/15\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 88\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.52lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.38d","brand":"Alvitta Ottley","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":49148651208959,"sku":"9798996764402","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/local-optimization-alvitta-ottley-9798996764402","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}