My initial algorithm:Compare element 0 with every other element, keeping track of how many elements are less than it. Repeat for each element until an element that is greater than exactly (k-1) elements is found.I assume this would take $O(n^2)$ in the worst case. Can a faster runtime be achieved without sorting the list?
What's the fastest way to find the Kth smallest value in an unsorted list without sorting?
search algorithms;lists
Use selection algorithm for linear time https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Selection_algorithm