<p>The wiki excerpt of the <a href="https://stats.stackexchange.com/questions/tagged/algorithms" class="post-tag" title="show questions tagged &#39;algorithms&#39;" rel="tag">algorithms</a> tag reads:</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>An algorithm is a a set of one or more computations that will produce
  a calculated result. All statistics methods are algorithms. Algorithms
  can be simple, such as calculating a percentage, or can be very
  complex and require a computer for fast and accurate results.</p>
</blockquote>

<p>I am not an expert, but this strikes me as off.  To me an algorithm is a recipe - a set of instructions for doing something.  Usually it means a very precise set of instructions.</p>

<p>And I think "all statistics methods are algorithms" is misleading. It's true that you can reduce any particular statistical technique to an algorithm (you have to do that for computers) but ... we do some things with our brains that aren't that!  Isn't deciding on which method to use a "method"? </p>
