Getting to a class that is held early in the morning is a problem that some college freshmen and professors can relate to. Although, we professors typically complain about it much less (and some of us, myself included, even enjoy early classes!). Based on the attendance of classes I have taught at 8 AM, it really is a problem that doesn’t have a definite solution yet! There are a ton of things that you need to do, to solve the problem of attending class at 8 AM. First, you have to start by waking up at a specific time that is often earlier than the time you are accustomed to waking up at. Presumably, your solution to this problem will look similar to my solution. Certain details may be different but you get the idea.
I wake up using a cheap digital alarm clock I have on my bedside table set for 6 AM. It cost me about $4 and as a bonus, I avoid the temptation to check my smartphone before I go to bed. I found that I sleep better that way. I am not really a “snooze” guy, so I just pop up out of bed as soon as the alarm goes off. I take a shower, appreciating the clean, reliable, hot water, being delivered to my wall. If only my ancestors could imagine such luxury, such magnificence! Next, I check the weather on the internet, then put on some weather-appropriate clothing for bike riding. I hop on my bike and ride towards Colorado State University. I am fortunate that my commuting route doubles as a scenic route. It travels through an area of Fort Collins known for its beautiful turn-of-the-century houses and great, big, old, happy, trees. As I pedal through Old Town, I remind myself how lucky I am to live in a city with drivers that are educated on bicycle safety and are respectful to riders. I arrive at CSU, lock my bike, and get to class at 7:50 am.
Feel free to describe as much or as little as you would like, but be sure to list your solution as a sequence of step-by-step instructions, similar to the examples in this chapter.
Congratulations you just wrote out an algorithm! You just authored a list of step-by-step instructions to solve a problem. That is what an algorithm is!
Millions of algorithms are present in our everyday life, it is just not common for us to acknowledge them as such. When we bake, we follow recipes that are just baking algorithms. That one is obvious but there are many more examples! When you are buying groceries you automatically gravitate towards the checkout line that appears as if it will take the least amount of time. Think about how complicated that algorithm is. You would likely prefer to be behind two people with three items each than one person with 50 items. Most of the algorithms that humans follow are just outside of our conscious thought so we don’t realize that they are there even though our human algorithms govern almost every decision we make and every action we take.
