The word is terrifying to non-technical folks. But it’s likely only confusing because they think it’s confusing. That’s how I once felt. There’s an air of mystery about it.
It’s what geniuses create. It’s the unknown force in the world. Algorithms are beyond comprehension, driving everything but in nothing.
Or, an algorithm is just a recipe. A process. A set of steps. Everyone uses algorithms.
You wake up. Brush your teeth. Eat breakfast. Get dressed. Go to work. You’ve completed your daily routine, or algorithm.
Algorithms are just a series of steps. Since these recipes exist all throughout math, people decided to give this concept a special name.
So next time you hear “algorithm”, just think: recipe with steps. Inputs and outputs (ingredients). The ingredients might be data. Outputs might be a prediction.