The power of the Basic Counting Principles in combinatorics really takes center stage when certain algorithms come into play. These algorithms were introduced to us in spectacular fashion when we discussed Generating Permutations and Combinations. This topic was one that I was very excited to work with since it involved a bit of programming in Python.

 The topic consisted of the basic concept of lexicographical order and some pseudocode of the aforementioned algorithms. The fun really started during the problem sets wherein we were required to program those algorithms ourselves. At first, it was a bit daunting considering how complex it was compared to our other programming tasks, but I was thrilled when I finally got it to work.

 The thought that I am still a Computer Science Freshman and I just made a program that could attempt every possible password of an online system certainly cemented my belief in the value of cybersecurity. I could only imagine the level of sophistication needed to make an algorithm that can crack a much more modern and secure website. I am really excited to find out what else is in store in the world of combinatorics and their applications in Computer Science.