Algorithms For Dummies, 2nd Edition

Chapter 22

Ten Algorithmic Problems Yet to Solve

IN THIS CHAPTER

Performing tasks faster and better

Solving new problem types

Considering the feasibility of hypercomputers

Employing one-way functions, and more …

Algorithms have indeed been around for centuries, so you’d think that scientists would have discovered and perfected every algorithm by now. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Solving a problem using a particular algorithm often presents a few more questions that the algorithm doesn’t solve and that didn’t seem apparent until someone did come up with the solution. In addition, changes in technologies and lifestyle often present new challenges that call for yet more algorithms. For example, the connected nature of society and the use of robots have both increased the need for new algorithms.

As presented in Chapter 1, algorithms consist of a series of steps used to solve a problem, and you shouldn’t confuse them with other entities, such as equations. An algorithm is never a solution in search of a problem. No one would create a series of steps to solve a problem that doesn’t ...