Name: 演算法為何被稱為演算法呢？｜BBC Ideas (Why algorithms are called algorithms | BBC Ideas)
Uploaded: 2023-03-16T21:01:20.000Z
Duration: 3 min 9 s

We think of an algorithm as something new,

but the term actually dates back about 900 years.

但這個詞其實大約 900 年前就有了。

The word algorithm comes from the name of a Persian mathematical genius, Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi.

演算法一詞源於波斯數學天才穆罕默德·伊本·穆薩·花拉子米之名。

He was born around 780 AD in the region now known as Uzbekistan.

公元 780 年左右，花拉子米出生於現在的烏茲別克。

可以從名字看出，他來自於花剌子模。

Known as al-Khwarizmi, he was director in the House of Wisdom,

以花拉子密這個名字廣為人知，他是「智慧宮」之首。

an intellectual centre for scholars in 9th Century Baghdad.

「智慧宮」是 9 世紀巴格達的學者知識中心。

He made innovative contributions to mathematics, astronomy, geography, and cartography,

他對數學、天文學、地理和製圖學有革新貢獻。

and wrote an influential book called Concerning the Hindu Art of Reckoning.

他還寫了一本頗有影響力的書，名為《印度計算學》。

300 years later, the book was rediscovered and translated into Latin.

300 年後，這本書被重新發現，並翻譯成了拉丁文。

It introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to the West,

這將印度-阿拉伯數字系統引入西方，

which eventually replaced the unwieldy Roman ones.

The Hindu-Arabic number system, along with the decimal point, both described by al-Khwarizmi in his book,

花拉子密在書中談及印度-阿拉伯數字系統及小數點，

are the basis of the numbers we use throughout the world today.

也就是如今天全世界正在使用的數字之基礎。

Al-Khwarizmi's name, when Latinised in the title of the book, became algoritmi.

花拉子密的名字在書名被拉丁化後，變成了 algoritmi。

And this is the origin of the word algorithm.

而這就是演算法這個詞的由來。

We also have al-Khwarizmi to thank for the word algebra,

代數這個詞也是源於花拉子密，

His books revolutionised mathematics in the West,

showing how complex problems could be broken down into simpler parts and solved.

展示了如何將復雜問題分解成簡單部分，並加以解決。

In medieval Latin, algorismus simply meant the decimal number system.

在中世紀拉丁語中，algorismus 僅表示十進制數字系統。

By the 13th Century, it had become an English word and was used, for example, by Chaucer.

而到了 13 世紀，它已成為一個英語單詞，並被喬叟等人使用。

But it wasn't until the late 19th Century that algorithm came to mean a set of step-by-step rules for solving a problem.

但直到 19 世紀後期，算法才開始代表著一套解決問題循序漸進的規則。

In the early part of the 20th Century, Alan Turing, the British mathematician and computer scientist,

20世紀初期，英國數學家兼計算機科學家艾倫·圖靈，

worked out how, in theory, a machine could follow algorithmic instructions and solve complex mathematics.

研究出了理論上機器如何遵循演算法指令，解決複雜數學問題。

During World War Two, he built a machine called the Bombe,

二次大戰期間，他製造了一台名為 Bombe 的機器，

which used algorithms to crack the Enigma code.

該機器使用演算法來破解恩尼格瑪密碼。

Today, algorithm is a fairly common term,

如今，演算法是一個相當普遍的術語，

even if sometimes you're not exactly sure what an algorithm does.

就算有時我們並不完全確定演算法到底是做什麼的。

現今，演算法充斥我們的生活，

helping us to get from A to B, driving internet searches, making recommendations of things for us to buy, watch or share.

幫助我們從一處到另一處、推動網路搜索、掌管購物推薦，還讓我們能觀看或分享影片。

And predicting how we vote or who we fall in love with.

甚至是預測投票結果或決定我們會愛上誰。

This little word that originated in medieval Persia is gradually transforming our lives.

這個源於中世紀波斯的小小詞彙正逐步改變我們的生活。

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