al·go·rithm
ˈalɡəˌriT͟Həm/
noun
- a process or set of rules to be followed in calculations or other problem-solving operations, especially by a computer."a basic algorithm for division"
The algorithms alone can't make you good at something, or life in general, but they can start you on a path to success. In order to be effective, they need to be practiced.
I learned this from a Rubik's cube.
It's a useless little puzzle. It's accomplishes nothing. It's not artistic, it doesn't teach an ethical or moral lesson, as some games do. When complete it's just a boring six-sided cube with different colors. but it taught me so much!
The Rubik's cube has earned a reputation as a genius's puzzle. One must be very smart (apparently) to solve a cube. Stories say that it took the inventor himself a month to solve it. But there's a not-very-well kept secret: you solve it using predefined algorithms. He did't solve it in a month -- he spent a month developing algorithms.
What is an algorithm? On a cube, it's the order that you twist different sides to move the blocks to where you want them. One way to solve it is in six different "steps" with each step using one unique algorithm, or sequence of moves.
You perform each algorithm for the step until the cube looks like what you want to achieve, then you move on to the next step. Then you repeat each step and eventually the problem is solved. It's not a terrible mystery, it's just that people who can solve the cube have spent time learning and practicing those algorithms in order until they apply them from memory.
A seemingly impossible problem get solved within minutes.
Pick a hobby. Let's say Scuba Diving.
Lots of fun, amazing scenery, all kinds of options, but dangerous.
You need to be certified to dive. You need training. Scuba isn't inherently dangerous, it's just extremely unforgiving, so instructors teach you to do tasks in a certain order so nothing critical is forgotten.
A complicated life-support system is simplified for easier understanding. Air hoses and regulators are on the right, support information is on the left.
Emergency procedures are broken down in to basic steps in order (algorithms) and drilled in a swimming pool until they are understood.
The dive itself is planned out, with bottom times and depths calculated, rates of ascension and breaks between dives are mapped out on a chart, or using a portable computer.
Breaking down and cleaning the equipment is done the same way every time so the next dive is predictable.
You wan't to learn to Scuba dive? learn the Scuba diving algorithms and practice them.
Let's go to the opposite end -- art!
You can't apply something as boring as algorithms to art can you? Of course you can!
Pencil drawings are done in steps. Rough outlines, shapes and layout are done first, then shading is added for depth, finally details are filled in. Each step has an appropriate algorithm.
Drawing faces has an algorithm, horses and dogs do too. Buildings, roads, and walls have their own perspective algorithms.
Dancing? Same thing. Basic steps, foundations, movement, etc. Unique algorithms for unique dance styles.
Martial arts? Check. Combination attacks, strategies, etc.
Flying was revolutionized with the B-17 by developing checklists -- piloting algorithms.
http://www.atchistory.org/History/checklst.htm
The more you practice these algorithms, the better you will be at applying them in unique situations.
And if you say you can't learn these skills -- that you can't have formal education, or you're not capable?
Then I say you're wrong because you're reading and comprehending this blog well enough to form an argument against it.
Not only is language made up of the most complex algorithms with English leading the way in terms of exceptions, oddities, and rules, but you're READING it!
And, to really make it crazy, you learned this as a child!
If you can learn to navigate language as a child, with no formal teaching, you can learn anything.
What if you could apply this thinking to every problem in your life?
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