The algorithm was invented to match residents with hospitals. Before it was standardized in the 1950s, a far worse method had been widely used, so from that van

The algorithm was invented to match residents with hospitals. Before it was standardized in the 1950s, a far worse method had been widely used, so from that vantage point it cannot be entirely obvious. Often what makes a solution seem trivial in retrospect is that the problem has been whittled down to its crystalline essence and placed in its proper context. As Alan Kay likes to say, point of view is worth 80 IQ points.