Merriam Webster defines an algorithm as a procedure for solving a mathematical problem in a finite number of steps that frequently involve the repetition of an operation.
However, the truth is that we use algorithms in nearly everything we do. The grocery store list that you make before you get there for the purchase, the phonecall you make before taking your car to the mechanic or quite simply your trip to the doctor for that pre-arranged meet-up. Sure, the ad hoc way of performing tasks works from time to time but you’ve got to admit; It can be quite the time guzzler. Imagine driving into your mechanic’s garage only to find that he is away at a family function in Kisoro! Now imagine the time you could’ve saved just by agreeing on a schedule before your unfortunate misstep.
A friend recently came to me with a problem she needed to be solved. She needed the solution quite urgently because her work depended on it. I was rather relaxed about the situation. I had looked at her benchmarks and declared that it was a simple issue of placing any calculator onto her web application. Alas! I went, downloaded the free version of the application and I went ahead to deploy it. I then started to try and apply her data to the calculator. That’s when things started to get all wrong! The algorithms used for this open market solution did not apply to my friend’s problem but I had now eaten up humongous amounts of time.
I could’ve instead:
- Looked critically at the numbers
- Did calculations for each
- Found the Greatest common divisors
- Applied the number to all the problems
Although finding the right algorithm can seem like an obvious thing, it can be fruitless if done the wrong way. All life situations may require a similar approach but they will certainly almost always, have a distinct variation.
