> I think it’s way harder coming up with complex algorithms in the first place. As soon as you start utilizing a data structure or calling another function, un

> I think it’s way harder coming up with complex algorithms in the first place. As soon as you start utilizing a data structure or calling another function, understanding the asymptotic behavior of each call can be super helpful. For example: public void f(List a, List b) { for(Object o : a) { if(b.contains(a)) { b.remove(a); } } } This might look like O(a), but is O(a*b), because `contains` and `remove` are O(n). I've come across code at work that was quadratic or much worse because of things like this. Whether or not this matters is more of a wash; if these lists only have 10 elements, meh Big O can also be misleading; modern computers may execute some optimal algorithm slower than a less optimal one, because of cache performance or whatever.