Editing British Museum algorithm (section)

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2015}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2015}}

The '''British Museum algorithm''' is a general approach to finding a solution by checking all possibilities one by one, beginning with the smallest. The term refers to a conceptual, not a practical, technique where the number of possibilities is enormous.

Newell, Shaw, and Simon<ref name="newell">{{Cite journal | last1 = Newell | first1 = A. | author-link1 = Allen Newell | last2 = Shaw | first2 = J. C.  | author-link2 = Cliff Shaw | last3 = Simon | first3 = H. A. | author-link3 = Herbert A. Simon | year = 1958 | title = Elements of a Theory of Human Problem Solving | journal = [[Psychological Review]] | volume = 65 | issue = 3 | pages = 151–166 | publisher = [[American Psychological Association]] | url = https://digitalcollections.library.cmu.edu/node/35224   | doi = 10.1037/h0048495 | url-access = subscription }}</ref> 
called this procedure the British Museum algorithm 
:"... since it seemed to them as sensible as [[infinite monkey theorem|placing monkeys in front of typewriters]] in order to reproduce all the books in the [[British Museum]]."