The Group Theory of Data: Why Netflix's Recommendations Work Like Mathematical Magic

The Group Theory of Data: Why Netflix's Recommendations Work Like Mathematical Magic You Know That Moment When Netflix Reads Your Mind? It's Friday night, you're scrolling through Netflix, and suddenly there it is—a show you've never heard of that turns out to be exactly what you needed. How did Netflix know you'd love a Korean zombie series when you've been watching British baking competitions? Or that you'd get obsessed with a documentary about chess players when your viewing history is mostly rom-coms? This isn't luck or coincidence. Netflix has cracked something that most companies struggle with: they've learned to think about data the way mathematicians think about complex problems. They don't just collect information—they find the hidden patterns and elegant structures that reveal what you actually want, not just what you think you want. The secret behind Netflix's seemingly magical recommendations isn't just big data or machine lea...