Digital Humanities
An Algorithm is a set of specific logical instructions that describe how to
solve a specific problem or perform a specific function.
A computer is a general-purpose machine, which means that it is a
machine that is not build for a specific purpose but it follows specific
directives given by the user.
There are some characteristics that an algorithm must have to be able to
function, such as well-defined inputs which in turn will give us a well
defined output, an algorithm must be unambiguous to both h8uman and
machine, it must be finite so it requires a certain amount of data and
follow a precise number of steps in a finite time, also it must be language
independent so as to not generate a problem of translation, because
computers function through binary code.
One of the first algorithm can be traced to ancient Babylon. It was
discovered by the German scholar Knut, that explained that they didn’t
have an algebraic notation, but they represented each formula by a step-
by-step list of rules for the evaluation of the reasoning process.
Ada Lovelace was the first to think that instructions could be performed by
a machine, in doing this she is still considered the inventor of the first
software.
This kind of scientific reasoning has through time influenced the field of
humanities, when for examples, writers decided to follow a certain set of
rules to write poems. For example, Nanni Balestrini in 1962 decided to
teach a machine how to write a poem, giving it a specific rule and words
and this gave way to the modern art producing AIs.
HOW DATA BECAME INFORMATION
Data indicates something defined and is considered the minimum
measure of observation. It’s an elementary unit of reasoning, while
information is something more complex, made up of more data and their
organization through context. Through then the analysis of this
information and its synthetization it becomes knowledge. (it refers only to
humans)
Data can be quantitative (numerical) and qualitative(descriptive). This
distinction and its use are part of the human of factor in computation,
where also the decision making faculty has a role on which data display
and exploit in computing.
DATA ENCODING
