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I feel pretty confident in saying that the average person has no clue what an algorithm is. It's just a fancy word for something they don't understand. They m
by wccrawford 9y ago
I feel pretty confident in saying that the average person has no clue what an algorithm is. It's just a fancy word for something they don't understand.
They might have some idea about it being a process you follow to get a result, but they would just say, "I don't know" rather than trying to verbalize that idea.
- vlasev 9y agoI think the average person knows algorithms by their close relative - the "recipe"
- kwhitefoot 9y agoMost recipes are not algorithms. From OED: ... set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations ... https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/algorithm https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/algorithm For me one of the key features of an algorithm is that it contains decisions. Most recipes are simply step by step instructions without any branching or looping.
- compiler-guy 9y ago"Add <spice> to taste." "Bake for 40-45 minutes." "If dough is too sticky, add flour." Many recipes contain decisions.
- vlasev 9y agoIt was tongue-in-cheek haha. That's why I said "relative", because they are not algorithms.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]