Name a sorting algorithm

The tip of the iceberg

These are the answers most people give first. They count, but they barely move you: 10 points each.

• Bubble sort
• Quicksort
• Merge sort

One step down

A step further down, worth 25 points each:

• Insertion sort
• Selection sort
• Heap sort
• Radix sort
• Counting sort
• Bucket sort

Answers by level

The Deep holds 7 answers starting with C, G, I, S and T. The Abyss has 14 more, and one legendary answer waits below them all.

Inside the answer list

• 31 answers in total, 24 of them longer than one word.
• Shortest: “Timsort”. Longest: “American flag sort”.
• S, B and C are the most common first letters; together they start 45% of the answers.
• 3 answers can be typed more than one way: “Quick sort” counts as Quicksort.

Getting below the surface

• Start with S: 6 of the answers begin with it.
• Bubble sort, Quicksort and Merge sort are safe but shallow. Aim past them.
• Go down the stack: from apps to protocols to the hardware underneath.

What the words mean

• Algorithm
• Sorting algorithm

Questions about this prompt

What do most people say for “Name a sorting algorithm”?

The usual first answers are Bubble sort, Quicksort and Merge sort. In Icillion they are worth 10 points each, the least of any level.

How many answers are there to “Name a sorting algorithm”?

31 in all: 3 on The Tip, 6 Below the Surface, 7 in The Deep, 14 in The Abyss, and a single legendary answer Below the Iceberg.

Which answers to “Name a sorting algorithm” are the shortest and the longest?

The shortest accepted answer is “Timsort” and the longest is “American flag sort”.

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