Algorithms are quietly running huge parts of the modern world — from the GPS directions that guide you to school, to the videos that pop up on your screen.
In this week’s Squiz Kids Science Short, we explore what an algorithm actually is, where the word comes from (hint: it traces back more than 1,000 years to a mathematician often called the Father of Algebra), and how simple step-by-step instructions power computers, coding platforms like Scratch and Minecraft Education, and the apps many of us use every day.
Tune in to find out how algorithms work… and why understanding them might just change the way you look at your feed.
Transcript
Welcome to Squizz Kids Science Shorts, the show where we take your big curly questions
and unpack the science stories everyone's talking about.
Break them down into snack size, science-powered answers, we sort the fact from the fluff, keep
it fun, keep it fast, and whether it's happening in your body, your backyard, or the big wide
universe, we're here to explain the science behind the headlines.
Have you ever noticed how you watch one video and suddenly five more just like it pop
up into your feed?
That is not magic, that is an algorithm.
So today, we're asking the question, what even is an algorithm?
An algorithm is simply a set of step-by-step instructions for solving a problem or completing
a task.
You actually use algorithms all the time.
A recipe to bake some cookies is an algorithm.
The instructions for building a Lego are an algorithm.
Even the rules for solving a math problem follow an algorithm.
The idea is ancient too.
The word algorithm comes from a Persian mathematician called Muhammad Ibn Musa al-Horizni, who lived
about 1,200 years ago in Baghdad.
He wrote books explaining step-by-step methods for solving maths problems, especially in
a field called algebra, which is why he's often known as the father of algebra.
When scholars translated his work into Latin, his name became algorithm and eventually the
word algorithm.
Today, algorithms run huge parts of the modern world.
They help our web searches, GPS directions, weather forecasts, online shopping recommendations,
airline flight schedules, and even self-driving cars.
For now, computers don't really think for themselves, they follow algorithms, and if
you've ever done coding at school, you might have written one yourself.
Platforms like scratch or Minecraft education are full of algorithms.
In scratch, you might tell a character when the green flag is clicked, move 10 steps,
turn left, repeat 5 times.
That, my friends, is an algorithm you've given the computer a set of instructions to follow.
Now, let's talk about the algorithms you hear most about, the ones running social
media and video platforms, sites like YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram use algorithms to decide
what shows to come up next on your screen.
The algorithm looks at clues like what you click on, how long you watch, what you like,
what you comment on, and what people with similar interests to you watch.
Then, it predicts, well, if you like this, you might like that, and it keeps sending
you similar videos.
That can be helpful because it helps you discover things that you enjoy, but there's a catch.
If an algorithm keeps showing you more of the same kind of videos, you might start seeing
only one slice of the world.
You might miss other ideas, other perspectives, or things you didn't even know existed.
Scientists sometimes call this a filter bubble or an echo chamber, with the same ideas
bounce around again and again.
Algorithms are powerful tools.
They help computers solve problems, organize information, and run complex systems, but
the most important thing to remember is this.
Algorithms follow instructions, and humans decide what those instructions are.
So, next time a video pops up into your feed, are you choosing what you watch next, or
is the algorithm choosing for you?
Had fun?
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Give your questions in the comments or email me at squizzkidsatthesquizz.com.au, and
you might just hear your answer right here on next week's Squizz Kids Science Shorts.
