Sorting Matters.

    Sorting seems to be a favourite I've seen when demonstrating the differences in the run-times of algorithms, my guess is because there are so many different ways that you can do it, and what's more so many different behaviours that each algorithm can have. We saw the most evident of these differences on the larger scale tests in the penultimate lab, but it's always entertaining for me to see the drastically different results that the means with which one handles data can have on the data management efficiency. 

    It happens to be of particular interest to me in Cognitive Science because it can show that the particular way that you take in and manage information, has a significant effect of how quickly you can use it, and in what contexts. With things such as working memory that are so tied to problem-solving abilities and general intelligence, information-handling efficiency is particularly important because of how limited working memory is both in capacity and in the amount of time information can be held in it. Showing a distinct difference in sorting algorithm run-times suggests that even in our own working memory, the way that we encode and manipulate information in our own brains might be a factor in how well we are able to solve problems and efficiently carry out tasks. It's really a fascinating thing.