I think that the clarification you want is pointless.
When I write a difficult program (or section of a program), the first thing I do is write the algorithm out on paper in words, a flow chart, or whatever makes sense at the time. Then I play around with it to make sure it can handle any possible input so it will not crash. the reason I do it that way is so I only have to worry about problems with the steps I am following, not issues like syntax, but whether I draw the data flow on paper, visualize it in my mind, run it on my computer, etc, etc. it is ALWAYS the same algorithm. Steps which take an input, interpret it, and then find the result. Consciousness generated by millions of ants carrying stones around in an infinite desert, or from you writing on scraps of paper may not look like much, but it is still consciousness.
I think that the clarification you want is pointless. When I write a difficult program (or section of a program), the first thing I do is write the algorithm out on paper in words, a flow chart, or whatever makes sense at the time. Then I play around with it to make sure it can handle any possible input so it will not crash. the reason I do it that way is so I only have to worry about problems with the steps I am following, not issues like syntax, but whether I draw the data flow on paper, visualize it in my mind, run it on my computer, etc, etc. it is ALWAYS the same algorithm. Steps which take an input, interpret it, and then find the result. Consciousness generated by millions of ants carrying stones around in an infinite desert, or from you writing on scraps of paper may not look like much, but it is still consciousness.