In their wake, and with the advent of a formalized numerical system, other technological and conceptual leaps were achieved, including the invention of abacus, algebra, and the concept of variables.ДЎ. The very first examples were simple algorithms used by ancients to track their grain and livestock, among other things. Algorithms literally run the modern world, Source: Markus Spiske/Flickr From ancient Babylon to the present day, algorithms have been an important feature of our society for millennia.

RELATED: HOW ALGORITHMS RUN THE WORLD WE LIVE IN A brief history of algorithmsДЄlgorithms are pre-defined, self-contained sets of instructions designed to execute diverse functions, and they have been around for longer than you might expect. These are 15 of the most likely candidates. But which of these complex calculation processes could be considered some of the most important? It turns out algorithms have a long and illustrious history stretching back as far as ancient Mesopotamian times. They have applications in many different disciplines, from math and physics to, of course, computing.

Algorithms are used by all of us all the time with or without our direct knowledge.

Atomic society on cool math games