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Advent of Code 2024

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Re: Advent of Code 2024

#121

Post by SleepyMyroslav »

dingensundso wrote: post #110
SleepyMyroslav wrote: post #105

Am I alone in thinking that measuring time to get answer is the worst possible metric? I have not participated because of that (yet). If there is a community for those who use other rules to compare actual solutions instead of answers I would be interested to hear about it. I am coming from low level C++ gamedev side so I understand that most people here use different tools to solve different problems.

I think most people don't participate for the competition. I did it several times to increase my coding skills, have fun or get more practice in a new programming language.

It is normal for coding to seek feedback from others to your solution. Even if it is automated. Looking at 'competing' solutions after you spent time on yours can teach how others think. Improving code after you learned new facts is huge part of coding fun at least for me. People mentioned private leaderboards in the topic few times. I just don't think time to submit an answer is relevant.

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#122

Post by neonsunset »

plagiarist wrote: post #117
neonsunset wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If almost 9 years were not enough to make this question seem silly, perhaps DuckDuckGo/Kagi/Perplexity could answer this?

Sure those can answer it. That person is perhaps trying to be social on a social network by inviting comments instead?

This specific question posed in this specific way usually implies a negative interaction. I have seen maybe one exception here so far.

And after providing detailed answers for so many times, I don't think it's worth it.

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#125

Post by danielovichdk »

atribecalledqst wrote: post #83

Last year I got stuck on Day 12 for a full week, and thinking about how to solve it consumed my every waking moment. I think this year, I'm going to be kind to myself and not participate so I can really enjoy the winter break from work.

Hahaha...I love this comment. I have just been stuck for a week doing edge puzzles and backstepping recursion, keeping myself awake aye night because it bothered me I couldn't "just" solve it.

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#126

Post by matsemann »

orra wrote: post #90
atribecalledqst wrote: post #83

Last year I got stuck on Day 12 for a full week, and thinking about how to solve it consumed my every waking moment. I think this year, I'm going to be kind to myself and not participate so I can really enjoy the winter break from work.

Sounds sensible. It's important to set boundaries, and enjoy time off. For me Advent of Code is a slippery slope. The difficulty ramps up so at first it's easy, then it's rewardingly difficult. But then before I know it, it takes wayyyyy too much time. The danger is being emotionally invested by then.

There's a graph here of the "hardness" of each day/task, based on how long the 100th place on the leaderboard used. https://aoc.xhyrom.dev/

So it's not linear, and also based on your own knowledge. So perfectly fine to skip some days and still it's possible to solve some of the next ones!

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#127

Post by ryukoposting »

atribecalledqst wrote: post #83

Last year I got stuck on Day 12 for a full week, and thinking about how to solve it consumed my every waking moment. I think this year, I'm going to be kind to myself and not participate so I can really enjoy the winter break from work.

Likewise. I did it one year in college and it became a life-consuming thing almost immediately. Not AoC's fault - part of it was depression, part of it was the Minnesota winter. Now that I have a full-time job and a wife, I'm trying to be more careful with those things that I know will suck me in.

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#128

Post by ktaqhg »

danielbln wrote: post #59
wiseowise wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the people I know already participate on private boards. AI enshitification will only speed up the process of moving there.

Are we using enshittification for everything we don't like these days? We invented calculators, those really enshittified manual arithmetic puzzles. Private boards for this stuff makes sense anyway, it's the Internet afterall.

No, we do not. Calculators are a whole different issue from LLMs, which plagiarize and spoonfeed whole paragraphs of thought.

Enshittification occurs when previously good or excellent things are replaced by mediocre things that are good enough for those susceptible for advertising and group think.

Examples are McDonalds vs. real restaurants, Disney theme parks vs. Paris, the interior of modern cars, search engine decline, software bloat etc.

Re: Advent of Code 2024

#129

Post by 4hg4ufxhy »

andix wrote: post #96
orra wrote: post #89

I would love it if the first star of the day was required, but the second was a bonus. I love Advent of Code, but I don't have the time to get 50 stars.

No stars are required at all. You can also skip some days if you don't want to do them. Or only to the first stars. However you like. First/silver stars will also increase your score in the leader boards.

I think you need all stars to do the final puzzle.
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