Introduction to Algorithms

This lecture provides an overview of CS-250, a bachelor-intermediate level course focusing on algorithms and data structures. The instructor explains the importance of studying algorithms, showcasing their impact on various fields such as business, internet, biology, and computer graphics. The lecture introduces the concept of algorithms through the calculation of an arithmetic series, presenting a simple and clever algorithm to solve the problem. It also discusses the importance of efficiency and correctness in algorithms, highlighting the significance of insightful and provably better algorithms. Additionally, the lecture touches on asymptotic analysis, emphasizing the relevance of asymptotic behavior in algorithm performance. The instructor concludes by discussing the existence of hard problems in algorithm design, such as NP-hard problems, and the timeless nature of algorithms, illustrated by a 280-year-old algorithm used in Google Trips.