An algorithmic view of nature, social interaction, and life itself can be incredibly valuable. Ranging from the mundane to the complex, many of life’s essential activities involve following a sequence of simple and discrete steps to solve some larger problem. Baking a dozen cookies, tying a Windsor knot, developing a business plan, diagnosing an illness, and designing a commercial jumbo jet are examples of processes that require algorithmic thinking to complete.
Perhaps more than any other discipline, computer science has given deep thought to algorithmic thinking and has developed highly refined ways of describing and interpreting complex processes. This chapter describes actions, sequences of actions, conditional actions, repeated actions, and how to reduce complexity by decomposing large problems into smaller units.