Journal #3: Algorithms In Daily Life

                The first algorithm I use every morning is the one to get ready for class.  This algorithm is the procedure to get ready for school:

1. Alarm goes off at 8:00AM
2. Turn off the alarm clock
3. Get out of bed
4. Brush teeth
5. Shower
6. Shave
7. Get dressed
8. Take a snack for the road
9. Head out the door

                Sometimes I brush my teeth in the shower, depending if I am pushed for time.  The algorithm determines if I put steps 4 and 5 together depending if I get out of bed on time.  But no matter what, the alarm will always go off at 8:00AM sharp to start the algorithm and end with me heading out the door.  I think a computer system can be built to follow this algorithm easily.  It has a start and an end, and only a few steps to get from the beginning to the end.  We could even program the computer to perform a task if the alarm clock never goes off, like let's say a power outage happened over night and reset the clock.  Now the alarm clock won't sound when it is suppose to.  We can program a contingency plan if that ever happens.  Like in real life I also set my phone alarm to go off at 8:00AM so if the wall clock doesn't go off for any reason my phone will still sound and wake me up at the same time.

                This is only one of the real-life situations that I might come across that would prevent me from performing my morning algorithm fast.  Another one that I come across often is when I take a shower the water doesn't get at a decent temperature fast enough.  It's too cold to step in the shower so I'm waiting outside sometimes for as long as 5 minutes waiting for the water to heat up.  When it finally gets to a suitable temperature it's perfect for a few minutes, and then turns into lava.  And that is my queue to hop out and shave.

                I don't think there is one function that a human can do that a computer can't.  From playing a game of tennis, to walking a dog, given enough time a computer can learn to perform all of our daily algorithms.  We can program a computer to calculate the velocity of the ball and then let it decide what swing to use and how hard to hit it.  We can teach a computer how to walk and then tell it what route to take the dog.  If there is a mean looking stray dog along the route we can program an alternate route to take the dog.