2. The First Algorithm
Moses speedily learned arithmetic, and geometry....This knowledge he derived from the Egyptians,who study mathematics above all things.Philo of Alexandria, Life of Moses
An algorithm is a terminating sequence of steps for accomplishing a computational task. Algorithms are so closely associated with the notion of computer programming that most people who know the term probably assume that the idea of algorithms comes from computer science. But algorithms have been around for literally thousands of years. Mathematics is full of algorithms, some of which we use every day. Even the method schoolchildren learn for long addition is an algorithm.
Despite its long history, the notion of an algorithm didn’t always exist; it had ...
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