Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by formerly_proven on Thursday July 22, 2021 @05:36AM
(#27917038)
Algorithms solve problems. Wrong answers are not solutions to (i.e. do not solve) a given problem. Hence, algorithm implies that it provides correct answers within the parameters of the problem.
Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by TeMPOraL on Thursday July 22, 2021 @01:55PM
(#27922104)
> Hence, algorithm implies that it provides correct answers within the parameters of the problem.
And so they always do. The problem that an algorithm solves is defined by the algorithm itself. The purpose of a system is what it does[0].
Algorithms are useful to solve problems for us - the trick is always in making sure that the problem the algorithm solves is the one we want.
--
[0] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_purpose_of_a_system_is_wha...
Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by formerly_proven on Thursday July 22, 2021 @04:01PM
(#27923580)
That's a bingo.
Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by theteapot on Thursday July 22, 2021 @08:18AM
(#27917982)
Disagree. We see this phenomena all the time: Right solution, bad input data. Right solution, wrong problem. Worlds turned to grey goo by replicators working to some technically correct algorithm.
Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by swiley on Thursday July 22, 2021 @04:06PM
(#27923640)
These will never give the right solution, only something close.
Re:A YouTube chat about chess got flagged for hate speech
by baobabKoodaa on Thursday July 22, 2021 @07:31AM
(#27917675)
The definition of algorithm is wider than you think. As your parent poster noted, "greedy algorithms" exist (as do many other algorithms which provide suboptimal answers). You can easily verify this by googling.
Merriam-Webster online says: "a procedure for solving a mathematical problem (as of finding the greatest common divisor) in a finite number of steps that frequently involves repetition of an operation" and "broadly : a step-by-step procedure for solving a problem or accomplishing some end".