Algorithms in Everyday Life
Today, the word “algorithm” is heard everywhere—from the Facebook news feed, to Google Maps that help us find our way, to Netflix recommending movies, viral videos on TikTok, posts we see on Instagram, and the various videos suggested by YouTube channels. The reason behind all these is algorithms.
Did you think algorithms were a modern invention? Actually, it’s a fascinating story that dates back thousands of years. To truly understand it, we need to take a journey into history and uncover the hidden story of the algorithms that quietly govern us today. This is a story we all should know.
The Ancient Origins of Algorithms
I love reading about the past. Through the pages of a book, I travel to various cities in history. So today, let’s travel to ancient Baghdad! At that time, Baghdad was a marvelous, beautiful, and very prosperous city. It was considered the capital of the world, or at least the center of trade and economy—a true treasure trove of knowledge. If you could time travel, ancient Baghdad would be a must-visit place.
Baghdad: The Center of Knowledge
During this era, Baghdad was ruled by caliphs who were very keen on building schools, which significantly influenced knowledge seekers. Later, they initiated research and studies, reaching their peak during the reigns of Caliphs Harun al-Rashid and Al-Ma’mun. Scholars who wrote or translated books into Arabic from any language were paid in gold according to the weight of the book! Imagine if today, authors were paid in gold for the weight of their manuscripts. Because of this, many talented and ambitious people came to that country.
Al-Khwarizmi’s Early Life and Curiosity
One such family settled in Khwarizm. Among its members was a very intelligent, outstanding, and bright young man named Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi, who had a deep passion for research, science, and knowledge.
Like other youths in the area, he spent his life working on his family’s farms, helping his father with agriculture and maintenance. However, his mind was always drawn to measuring distances or seeking various quantities. He was a master at instantly sketching geometric shapes for everything he saw.
One day, an elder noticed, “Muhammad, you always seem busy and distracted. What’s going on?”
Al-Khwarizmi replied,
“As long as I’m awake, I’m busy with shapes and their distances, calculating their heights. I’m always drawing lines from one palm tree to another, from house to house. Lines and shapes occupy my mind so much that they’re with me even when I’m awake, and they follow me in my dreams when I sleep.”
The elder then said, “Son, your calling is mathematics. Go to Baghdad in search of knowledge. Don’t waste your time on the farms like this!”
“But I need to help my father with farming. I can’t go to Baghdad…” Al-Khwarizmi hesitated.
“Go to the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. You’ll find what you need there. Leave your father’s matters to me.”
“Thank you, teacher. May God bless you. Peace be upon you.”
“Peace be upon you too…”
The Journey to the House of Wisdom
I imagined Al-Khwarizmi’s time—there was no internet, no printed books. To learn something, one had to either meet a scholar in person or read a handwritten copy of a book made by someone in a field of science or knowledge.
So, in search of knowledge, during the golden age of Islamic civilization, he traveled to Baghdad, the capital of the world. Al-Khwarizmi enrolled at the House of Wisdom, which was the center for science and scholars, established by Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who allocated a large sum of the country’s budget for science and scholars out of his immense love for knowledge. Those at the House of Wisdom only had to learn, research, read, and write books—the Baghdad government covered all their expenses.
Thus, our protagonist Al-Khwarizmi was fortunate to study at the House of Wisdom, among leading scholars of the time who translated great works from other cultures into Arabic. With a brilliant and sharp mind, Al-Khwarizmi excelled so quickly that within two years of arriving in Baghdad, he obtained a license to teach mathematics there—meaning he passed all exams with flying colors and became a lecturer within two years.
Transforming Mathematics: The Introduction of Zero
By then, Al-Khwarizmi had read many books on mathematics. One day, while discussing with another teacher:
“I agree with you, Abu Jafar. Let’s review this section again…”
Suddenly, there was a loud noise.
“What’s that sound? What’s happening, Abu Jafar?”
“Al-Khwarizmi, don’t worry. It seems people have arrived. They come to ask about calculations for renting, dividing shares, zakat, and giving alms…”
“Oh scholars of Baghdad, what should we do? Only Allah cares for us. There’s no use in knowledge that doesn’t help people…”
In those days, unlike today, not everyone learned mathematics. Only selected groups or castes studied it. People had to go to mathematicians to solve their problems, not just in Baghdad but throughout the ancient world.
But Al-Khwarizmi was different from other scholars. He thought about how to communicate this knowledge to ordinary people. He felt sad that people lacked knowledge of mathematics, science, and its processes, and saw the difficulties and losses they faced because of it.
Al-Khwarizmi started seeking knowledge everywhere. His mind was filled with Indian mathematical methods, as Indian scholars were renowned for mathematics at the time. However, even in India, this knowledge was limited to a few; it wasn’t taught to everyone. Muslim scholars gained this knowledge from Hindus who converted to Islam. Al-Khwarizmi learned Indian numeral mathematics and realized how important and easy it made calculations. But the system only had nine symbols—from 1 to 9. So, writing a number like 601 was still a problem. What would you write in the tens place if there was a 1 in the units and a 6 in the hundreds?
Today, we know that as the “zero.” Did you know that Al-Khwarizmi was the one who properly introduced the zero into this system? This led to a huge advancement in mathematics. So next time you write zero, remember Al-Khwarizmi of Baghdad. (Zero was first written in India by Brahmagupta as – , but it was Al-Khwarizmi in the 9th century who brought zero to its current form. Brahmagupta also used the dot as a decimal point. However, the concept of zero existed in various forms in different cultures before India.)
Making Math Accessible to All
After sorting out these mathematical confusions, Al-Khwarizmi wrote a book explaining these things to ordinary people with simple examples. His aim was to give everyone the opportunity to learn mathematics. Then, the general public could use math in daily life, such as dividing inheritance, trading, and measuring land. That’s exactly what happened. The Arab society learned mathematics from his self-study books, and later, through Arab traders, the whole world learned about numbers.
The Birth of Algebra and the Word “Algorithm”
Al-Khwarizmi’s faith in science knew no bounds. He was far ahead of his time and wrote another book—his book on Algebra. Today, every child who goes to school learns the methods from this book.
The name of the “Algebra” book was Latinized to “algoritmi.” That’s where the word “algorithm” comes from. Because of his books, Western mathematics underwent a revolutionary change. He showed the world how to break down complex problems into simple parts and solve them.
Alan Turing and the Modern Algorithm Revolution
In the early 20th century, British mathematician and computer scientist Alan Turing theoretically showed that not only humans but also machines could follow algorithmic instructions to solve complex mathematical problems. That was the birth of the computer age!
During World War II, he built a machine called the “Bombe.” This machine used algorithms to break the Enigma code. The Enigma was a complex encryption device used by Germany during World War II for secure military communications. It turned ordinary messages into completely meaningless strings of letters. The machine had several parts called rotors. By changing the positions of these rotors and passing signals through various electrical circuits, the same word would be encrypted differently in each message. Without an Enigma machine, it was extremely difficult to decipher these messages.
The Germans thought their communication system was unbreakable. However, Alan Turing and a team of British scientists successfully broke the Enigma code using advanced algorithms in the Bombe machine. This was a turning point in World War II, as it allowed the Allies to know German military plans in advance, significantly affecting the outcome of the war. This is a great example of the power of algorithms.
Algorithms in the Digital Age
In today’s social media age, “algorithm” is a very common word. Sometimes we don’t even know exactly what algorithms do, but they are everywhere in our lives. They help us get from point A to B, power internet searches, recommend things to buy, watch, or share. Not only that, algorithms are now even used to predict whom we might vote for or fall in love with. This method, which originated in Persia, is gradually transforming our entire lives.
Life Lessons from Algorithms
When we were in school, our teacher always said, “You need to follow every step of the calculation correctly, or the answer will be wrong.” Back then, we didn’t pay much attention, but looking back now, that’s the basic concept of algorithms: “To solve any problem, we need to follow a set of specific steps. If we do those steps correctly, we get the right result.” Isn’t that true for life as well?
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