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Visual explanation of the last Google Codejam 2017 question

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11–20 of 33 posts

Re: Visual explanation of the last Google Codejam 2017 question

#11
post #2

I wonder if there is a real cause and effect relationship between being good at this kind of games and being a good coder. I suspect not.

I've interviewed and rejected many TopCoders and IOI competitors. Not sure why but it seems like a totally different skillset than software engineering.

Re: Visual explanation of the last Google Codejam 2017 question

#14
post #10

The more I scroll, the stupider I feel. Ugh.

This wasn't my intention. I hope the feeling subsides!

I did try to keep it short although some parts still (fortunately) shows how to come to those conclusion. That might give it the impression of being smart but the presentation is definitely selected among many idea and rearranged.

Re: Visual explanation of the last Google Codejam 2017 question

#17
post #2

I wonder if there is a real cause and effect relationship between being good at this kind of games and being a good coder. I suspect not.

I suspect there is a real relationship. General intelligence is a real phenomenon. Being smart at one task indicates, though does not guarantee, that you'll be smart at another task. This is of course a different question than whether this test provides maximum predictiveness of future success. But it seems obvious to me that the test provides some information. It's really hard for a variable to be completely non-inf…

> doing so would imply we aren't as good as feel we are.

Or to put it more pessimistically: even worse than we feel we are. Impostor syndrome and all that.

Re: Visual explanation of the last Google Codejam 2017 question

#19
post #18

Could this be easily solved with the Z3 theorem prover? Is Z3 an acceptable programming language for this code jam.

Looks like you would be allowed to use it: https://code.google.com/codejam/terms

'You may use any programming language to solve a Code Jam problem. However, for any round after the qualification round, the compiler, interpreter, libraries, and external services you use must be available such that anyone else can use it for free without a time limitation and without violating any rights of any person or entity'

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