04+-+Question

Contrast algorithms and heuristics as problem-solving strategies.
Student Name: Mackenzie Jordan



Solving a problem using an algorithm involves following a step-by-step procedure to find the answer or desired result. Algorithms are used to solve math problems, put together furniture or bake a cake. There are, however, many things that cannot be answered using an algorithm. You cannot identify whether a certain area of woods has an excess amount of poison-ivy or not using a formula. Instead, you might rely on a heuristic which would allow you to make a quick decision based on either examples that come to mind quickly or compare information to previous prototypes. Unfortunately this method of decision making and problem solving is not always accurate, as our memory is faulty.

Citations: Cherry, Kendra. "What Is a Heuristic?" //About.com //. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

Ormrod, J. E. "Problem-Solving Strategies: Algorithms and Heuristics." //Education.com //. Pearson Allyn Bacon Prentice Hall, n.d. Web. 01 Feb. 2015.

COMMENT: By: D.A.V.I.D B.E.A.K Great answer Mackenzie! It is crisp and easy to understand. To make your awesome answer even more awesome, you could have gave a separate example for heuristics. Also, you could have introduced the two different kinds of heuristics. Algorithms are kind of just algorithms on its own but heuristics have two kinds: representativeness heuristic which is judging thigns based on how well it representsa prototype. An example would be this: Samantha loves to read her horoscope every day and enjoys aromatherapy and attends a spirituality group every week. Is Samantha more likely to be a school teacher or a holistic healer? The representativeness heuristic would make people think she is a holistic healer due to what she "represents" in her description but really, a school teacher is more common than healers so she is more likely to be a teacher. The second kind, availability heuristics is based on how available an event is, or how likely it will come into mind. An example would be a news report about a man who died from an unknown cause. In the same scenario, a lot of car accidents and murders were prevalent in the area. Even though an illness would be a more common reason of death, the person would think the man died from an accident or murder because for him, that is more common and even more vivid and "available" to him.

citations:

Cherry, Kendra. "Representativeness Heuristic." N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Feb. 2015.

Lavoie, Sarah. "Availability Heuristics." //Education Portal //<span style="background-color: #f2f2f2; font-family: 'Open Sans','Helvetica Neue',Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">. N.p., n.d. Web.