What is computation?

Computation is when we use rules and steps to solve problems or make things happen.

Imagine you're playing with building blocks. You have a set of instructions that tell you how to stack them, like "put a red block on top of the blue one" or "make sure it’s balanced." That's kind of what computation is: following rules in order to get from where you are now to where you want to be.

Think of computation as a recipe. When you're baking cookies, the recipe tells you what to do, add flour, mix it up, put it in the oven. A computer uses something similar: a list of instructions that tell it what to do step by step.

Now imagine you have a friend who can do math really fast. They see numbers and know right away what they mean together, like 2 + 2 = 4. A computer is like that super-fast friend, but instead of just doing simple math, it can handle lots of steps at once.

So whether you're stacking blocks or solving a puzzle, computation is just the clever way we use rules and steps to get things done.