Good Algorithms Make Good Neighbors: Many computer scientists doubted ad hoc methods would ever give way to a more general approach to finding nearest neighbors. They were wrong.

The article discusses the development of the algorithm known as norms to address the statistic problem known as nearest neighbor, referencing papers in the "Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science" and "Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on Theory of Computing" journals. An overview of researchers' designing of normed spaces is provided. The uses of data analysis and expander graphs, including in regard to measuring the distance from data points, are discussed.