What is algorithms? Most of the users on STEEMIT already know what an algorithm is, but not all of us! So I decided to write a post about it, hope you guys enjoy!
Acording to Oxford Ditionaries Online an Algorith is defined as the follwowing:
“A process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations”.
So to put it in simpler terms, algorithms is a list of steps to solve a problem. The word algorithm lets one think of computer and a bit of mathematics, but with that definition we can see that almost everyone uses at least one algorithm a day! If you ever used a cooking recipe or did some basic mathematical arithmetic, then by definition, you have used an algorithm!
Algorithms got steep growth of popularity when humans started to develop computers! Computer programming is the process of writing a set of well defined steps to a computer to do a certain task. This is the reason algorithms is synonymous with computers. Now you are fully catched up with the idea of what an algorithm is. Lets talk about the idea behind the title.
How can I say that algorithms is the reason that humans have evolved to be the top of the food chain?
In nature, animals are really simple creatures. They are born and follow a certain life pattern (program) from the beginning of their life, till their last breath. A good example of this is dogs, they automatically know how to swim after a certain age. They did not observe any other dog swimming nor did their mothers teach it to them, they just have this ability born into them.
Now let us go back to other animals. They only follow a certain pattern, bred into them. They are almost like our first generation computers. It was not programmable, it could only do the one or two tasks it was build for. We humans on the other hand, are programmable, like our modern computers. This makes us a bit more “useful” at adapting in new situations.
When humans started writing, a new ability of accurately storing information was born. New ways of telling tales and warnings emerged. Traditions became more rigid because the steps was concretely written down. If you successfully helped a sick person, then you could tell/write down the steps and share it with close friends and family. This helped to reduce deaths because people were thought (programmed) to treat a person who is sick. It is true we had to debug many of our artificial codes, but it helped us to become fluid. We can easily and quickly adapt to any shape of problems. This is why we are particularly good at adapting in ever changing environments and our animals friends have a hard time to survive.
Our knowledge of algorithms has made our lives easier. We are busy creating algorithms that can create algorithms. This could help us think of solutions at a faster rate than ever before. These algorithms are the process of creating artificial intelligence. I have written an article about it here
So yeah there is my thoughts on why algorithms helped us as a species.
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