Computations in Real Life


Computation surrounds us everywhere. I see computation as the flow of data and instructions, everything that is constantly sending and receiving information.

Coming from a geeky technical background, I've had a lot of time to think and contemplate about how computers affect us. They surround us in everything we do. We've gotten to a point in which we take them for granted and don't even notice how they're affecting our lives. If you don't know what I'm talking about, try to go more than 1 day without checking your email or connecting to your IM, or simply from interacting with some sort of electrical device (yes, even iPods).

The concept of computation doesn't necessarily have to derive from a physical machine, but it can be an abstract concept as well. Life is full of computing processes (or may I say indirect sets of instructions) that we can notice if we actually look for them in our daily life. Let us imagine for a moment that life is a gigantic OS. What would that make us? What would the things we do and surround us be? Perhaps if this were the case, I'd say we (and everything that surrounds us) are mini computer programs running and executing our tasks inside the OS world, and trying to be as efficient as possible, with the only difference that we are not only just following instructions (well, most of us anyway). We have the ability to think on our own and not be dumb programs that don't know what's going on (or so we like to think). As humans, we need to constantly exchange information among ourselves.

Let's see a few examples:

1. Traffic





2. Elevator



3. Memory styled board game



4. Time Schedules



5. Books



6. Taxi!

"How/Why" Chart
name	how?	why?
Traffic	The data that is constantly going back and forth can be represented by the people moving in their vehicles from one point of the city to another, who have particular destinations and purposes.	We can imagine the flow of traffic as data passing through a computer ship. Signals regulate the flow of this information, such as traffic lights. Each bit of information that travels around in a computer has its own set of rules and instructions that need to be obeyed, similar to driving laws. Not only can we see this example with vehicular traffic, but with human traffic as well.
Elevator	When we get into elevators, we have a certain process to follow in order to operate it. a. know which floor you need to go b. press the button c. wait until the elevator gets you there. if it stops along the way, do not get off d. get off the elevator	Certain instructions and procedures must be fulfilled similar to those of a computational system. The elevator carries living beings and objects back and forth for as long as its necessary, while showing how the process is done (floor number, up and down arrows, etc). This is the working principle of a computer: carrying information back and forth.
Memory Game	a. flip two cards, remember what they are and their location b. if you make a pair, the cards will remain facing up. otherwise you flip them back c. keep flipping the cards and making pairs until all are facing up	When we play a memory game, we need to remember the position of specific cards in order to be able to access them when necessary, and achieve certain tasks (like winning). This is similar to how a computer manages its memory by storing values and data in specific places and keeping record of these places in order to access them when necessary.
Schedules	a. create a task b. select an appropiate time and place to fulfill that task, set importance levels c. execute the tasks according to their time and importance	Humans live their lives setting tasks and planning out what they need to do. We know we need to do something by a specific hour, so we plan in advance how are we going to do it. Computers work in the same fashion: they map out plans on specific tasks to accomplish, according to the level importance and a logical order of events.
Books	if reading: a. choose a topic b. choose a book (not based by its cover) c. read if writing: a. choose a topic b. make a general outline or map of topics to be discussed c. research d. write e. publish	Books are an unlimited resource of information, just like computers are nowadays. They can be informative, boring, entertaining, etc. They can contain useless information, or the most important facts of life.
Taxi	a. see if any passing taxi has its available sign on, if it does then go to step b (if it doesn't, don't bother and keep looking) b. put your hand up in the air, extend your index finger c. loudly say "taxi!" d. if driver stops, get in and tell him where you want to go (he should turn off his available sign), pay once you get to your destination. if he doesn't stop, start the whole process again.	The process of hailing and catching a cab can be compared to the process of transmittance of information from point a to point b. Similar to the elevator, the process of taking a taxi involve various steps.