Algorithms — The Daily PPILL #173

Algorithm.

Such a fancy word. It has a pretty disappointing origin. It doesn’t come from the greek “algos”, and has nothing to do with rhythm. Some trace it back to the name of a Persian mathematician.

Wikipedia defines it as a “finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems”.

Today, the algorithm rules everything. It determines what we watch, what shows up in our shopping cart, and even the answers to our questions.

But algorithms are not totally a new thing, we just never had them execute automatically. We had to manifest them through a person, or even a group of them. Laws, social norms, and even some aspects of organized religion are a “finite sequence of rigorous instructions, typically used to solve a class of specific problems”. They all help us to make decisions faster, and to know what to do in a given case.

As published on The Channelmeister