Algorithm Lesson

In an introductory algorithm course, the teacher indicated that there is a very important question to ask when writing algorithms, which are problem-solving procedures: Can we do any better? This is a very good maxim to embrace when writing introspectively. It reminds me of a monk who told the second monk that the first monk had a conversation with God. The second monk asked, “What did you tell God?”. Replied the first monk, “I didn’t tell God anything, I was listening.” The second monk asked, “What did God say?” The first monk replied, “God didn’t say anything, he was also listening.” To which you might ask: listening to what? When there’s nothing to listen to, and the mind becomes quiet, it settles into a deep state of peace, a receptive mental state of being eternal, silently aware, free from the finite, and the temporary. Can we do any better?