The document discusses greedy algorithms and their use for optimization problems. It provides examples of using greedy approaches to solve scheduling and knapsack problems. Specifically, it describes how a greedy algorithm works by making locally optimal choices at each step in hopes of reaching a globally optimal solution. While greedy algorithms do not always find the true optimal, they often provide good approximations. The document also proves that certain greedy strategies, such as always selecting the item with the highest value to weight ratio for the knapsack problem, will find the true optimal solution.