The content of Adam Ries’ book (1574) with the instructions to written arithmetic fostered an enlightening for citizens at this time since they learned how to calculate themselves making it obsolete to pay a "Rechenmeister" for this task. In the early modern times algorithms entered the industrial world by mechanical automatisms intended to take away the routines from people. Nowadays algorithms hidden in many technical devices have become a part of our daily procedures often staying unaware for people. The paper discusses the historical development of the concept of algorithm and its potential for mathematics and general education today.