algorithm: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Nov. 8, 2026

News •

Albanese government warned it is ‘sleepwalking into another robodebt scenario’ over use of algorithms and AI • Nov. 4, 2026, 4:55 PM ET (The Guardian)

A computer scientist breaks through a limit that stood since 1996 • Oct. 30, 2026, 7:10 AM ET (Science Daily)

Taking back the algorithm: Social media platforms are restoring users’ control of their feeds • Oct. 22, 2026, 5:00 AM ET (CNN)

Software advance brings complex quantum simulations to standard computers • Oct. 14, 2026, 3:00 AM ET (Phys.org)

Topics

sorting algorithm computation polynomial-time algorithm exponential-time algorithm guessing stage intractable problem effective procedure tractable problem computational complexity NP-complete problem foundations of mathematics probability and statistics numerals and numeral systems matrix function fractal graph derivative vector error

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computer science: Algorithms and complexity

Key People

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Liu Hui

Chinese mathematician

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Alonzo Church

American mathematician

Lamport, Leslie

Leslie Lamport

American computer scientist

Soviet postage stamp featuring a portrait of Al-Khwarizmi in a turban, with Russian text and decorative border, issued to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of his birth.

al-Khwārizmī

Muslim mathematician

Equations written on blackboard

Numbers and Mathematics