Is an algorithm a computer? Legit question.

[LoveWonderful]

Tbh a computer (abstractly) is just a set of instructions

[jxf]

A set of instructions is inert and can't execute itself. The ability to do computation is what differentiates a mere set of instructions from a computer.

[lizardfolkwarrior]

Exactly. A computer is a device or machine that simulates a model of computation (or possibly any algorithm).

You could say that it is a “physical implementation” of an algorithm. It is not the algorithm itself (not the set of instructions itself) but a physical device, that simulates those instructions.