ALGORITHM

 The word "algorithm" traces back to the 9th-century Persian polymath Muḥammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī. His name was Latinized to Algoritmi and later evolved into algorism, referring to the decimal system of counting. Over centuries, it morphed into "algorithm" to describe any step-by-step mathematical or logical procedure. [1, 2, 3, 4] 

The ‘father of algebra’

Al-Khwārizmī was a polymath and a religious man. His scientific writings started with dedications to Allah and the Prophet Muhammad. And one of the major projects Islamic mathematicians undertook at the House of Wisdom was to develop algebra.

While the name is relatively modern, the concept of an algorithm is ancient: [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • 2,500 BC: Ancient Mesopotamian (Sumerian) clay tablets describe the earliest known division algorithm.
  • 300 BC: Greek mathematician Euclid outlined the Euclidean Algorithm (a step-by-step method for finding the greatest common divisor) in his book Elements.
    • 1840s AD: Ada Lovelace wrote the first machine algorithm intended for Charles Babbage’s mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

23rd December: Saint Thorlac - Independent Catholic News

23rd December: Saint Thorlac - Independent Catholic News : Bishop. Born in Iceland in 1133, St Thorlac went to Paris and Lincoln to study. When he returned home he is said to have ignored advice to marry a rich widow - at a time when many other Icelandic priests were married - and instead started a house of canons regular at Thykkviboer. He was consecrated bishop of Skalholt in 1178 and set about reforming the Church in Iceland, drawing up a code for both laity in clergy. He died on this day in 1193, and was canonised by bishops in the national assembly in 1198.
Read more

22nd March - 

Saint Nicholas Owen - Independent Catholic News

22nd March - 

Saint Nicholas Owen - Independent Catholic News : Jesuit lay-brother, martyr. There is no record of his family, birthplace, date of birth, or baptism. Nicholas had been a servant of the Society of Jesus and joined the order around 1580. At the execution of St Edmund Campion he openly declared him innocent and was imprisoned. After his release he served the priests Henry Garnett and John Gerard for eighteen years. He was captured again with with Fr John, escaped from the Tower, and helped the escape of Father Gerard.
Read more

SAINTS SEPTEMBER 24

Image
SAINTS SEPTEMBER 24  "There is only one tragedy in this life, not to have been a saint."- Leon Bloy Martyrs of Chalcedon, A group of forty-nine Christians slain in Chalcedon during the reign of Emperor Diocletian . Records indicate that the martyrs were members of the choir in the church of Chalcedon. September 24th: S.G Ignatius de Velasco, SJ  https://www.jesuit.org.sg/sept-ignatius-de-velasc-6companionso-sj/  Sts. Chuniald and Gislar, 7th century. Irish or Scottish missionaries to southern Germany and Austria. They labored as disciples of St. Rupert of Salzburg. Feast of Our Lady of Ransom B. COLUMBA RAWSKI, ABBESS B. V. MARY OF THE MERCY ST.PACIFIC OF SAN SEVERINO, FRANCISCAN FRIAR, Carlo Antonio Divini was born in San Severino in 1653; he was orphaned at a young age. He entered the Franciscan order, taking the name Pacificus, and began a long apostolate of service in his own region. His health was poor, and he died in 1721. He was canonized in 1836.   Feast...
Read more