Divide and Conquer
Recursively breaking down a problem into two or more sub-problems of the same or related type, until these become simple enough to be solved directly.
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Origin
The Latin maxim divide et impera is traditionally attributed to Philip II of Macedon in the 4th century BCE. In computing, the approach gained formal standing in 1945 when John von Neumann invented merge sort, establishing recursive problem-halving as a foundational algorithmic paradigm.
Updated February 22, 2026