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Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

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Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#41

Post by gerdesj »

falsedan wrote: post #32
gerdesj wrote: post #28

One commentator here questioned why is this on HN (and was DVd somewhat) There is the fact that dad teaches stuff to daughter. The lesson is fun and interactive. The concepts dealt with are pretty profound and can be quite deep: constraints, maxima and minima. Well done dad - you've covered some complex stuff in a fun and accessible way. Good skills. If anyone else doubts why this is valid Hacker News, they may want…

Slamming my nerd card down so hard the whole table spins around It's hacker news, not motivational team building shared insight news. I'd expect a GA solver which selected the four pieces which could be constructed into the tallest possible structure (with all the dirty tricks e.g. a boat hull attached to a wobbly assemblage of Giant Base/wing plates with a 12x24 brick balanced on the top), with a Speculation section…

... and where do you think new hackers come from?

Personally speaking, I have no idea what a GA solver is but my initial solution would involve putting all the pieces on top of each other with their longest edges aligned - that's the maximum. Then we look at the constraints: gravity is a bit of a bugger. etc etc

Keep your card and open your mind. You might be a bright lad but you can still learn to look at problems from a fresh angle. The OP's daughter is in safe hands as far as I can see - she'll learn critical thinking and that is a real gift.

BTW: what is a GA solver?

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#42

Post by crazygringo »

It's funny, but I feel like this is exactly the kind of skill required in engineering or business generally -- "How can we creatively maximize 'x' given what we've got?"

In fact, it wouldn't strike me as an unreasonable interview question, using the physical pieces. Of course some people are better with spatial reasoning than others (and experience with Legos is another leg up) -- but using several simple, general-purpose questions along these lines almost feels like a FizzBuzz for any job where problem-solving is an important part.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#43

Post by jedberg »

gerdesj wrote: post #41
falsedan wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slamming my nerd card down so hard the whole table spins around It's hacker news, not motivational team building shared insight news. I'd expect a GA solver which selected the four pieces which could be constructed into the tallest possible structure (with all the dirty tricks e.g. a boat hull attached to a wobbly assemblage of Giant Base/wing plates with a 12x24 brick balanced on the top), with a Speculation section…

... and where do you think new hackers come from? Personally speaking, I have no idea what a GA solver is but my initial solution would involve putting all the pieces on top of each other with their longest edges aligned - that's the maximum. Then we look at the constraints: gravity is a bit of a bugger. etc etc Keep your card and open your mind. You might be a bright lad but you can still learn to look at problems f…

> what is a GA solver

Genetic Algorithm solver, I assume.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#44

Post by te_platt »

Very fun! It reminds me of teaching my son to play tic-tac-toe. He started in the top-left, I went center, he went top-center, I blocked top-right, he went in between top-left and top-center and quickly claimed victory. I gave him that one and said he had to go in an unused square. Next game he started top-left, I went center, he went top-center and then before I could go he hurried and went top-right and again claimed victory. I don't remember what we did after that but I do remember thinking it was more fun pushing the rules than the actual game.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#45

Post by fdsfsafasfdas »

falsedan wrote: post #32
gerdesj wrote: post #28

One commentator here questioned why is this on HN (and was DVd somewhat) There is the fact that dad teaches stuff to daughter. The lesson is fun and interactive. The concepts dealt with are pretty profound and can be quite deep: constraints, maxima and minima. Well done dad - you've covered some complex stuff in a fun and accessible way. Good skills. If anyone else doubts why this is valid Hacker News, they may want…

Slamming my nerd card down so hard the whole table spins around It's hacker news, not motivational team building shared insight news. I'd expect a GA solver which selected the four pieces which could be constructed into the tallest possible structure (with all the dirty tricks e.g. a boat hull attached to a wobbly assemblage of Giant Base/wing plates with a 12x24 brick balanced on the top), with a Speculation section…

Such over-engineering does not smack of interesting material for a site called "hacker news". This is great material in itself, especially considering the context of education here.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#46

Post by jacquesm »

te_platt wrote: post #44

Very fun! It reminds me of teaching my son to play tic-tac-toe. He started in the top-left, I went center, he went top-center, I blocked top-right, he went in between top-left and top-center and quickly claimed victory. I gave him that one and said he had to go in an unused square. Next game he started top-left, I went center, he went top-center and then before I could go he hurried and went top-right and again claim…

Childrens logic: if it isn't said outright before the game then it isn't a rule. You lost fair & square.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#47

Post by jacquesm »

crazygringo wrote: post #42

It's funny, but I feel like this is exactly the kind of skill required in engineering or business generally -- "How can we creatively maximize 'x' given what we've got?" In fact, it wouldn't strike me as an unreasonable interview question, using the physical pieces. Of course some people are better with spatial reasoning than others (and experience with Legos is another leg up) -- but using several simple, general-pu…

There's this joke about an Ikea job interview: interviewer tosses a bunch of parts on the floor in the interview room and says: take a chair.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#48

Post by tdy721 »

To entertain myself, I gave this some thought before I clicked. I assumed exactly what the title says: which 4 lego pieces create the tallest structure that stands on it's own.

Well, we need the biggest bricks we can find, my mind went to the ship hulls: https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=282223262072&&&dispItem=1&chn=ps

So how can we connect 2 of these together, and make it stand vertical? Or can we?

It might be that we need the 3 pieces to make the brick stand... I'm not sure.

And then I clicked on the article...

(I'm not sure if I've even found the largest brick, or if I've found a 3 brick component; how do we define "brick"? Why do I care? Please comment and subscribe, it really helps ;)

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#49

Post by gerdesj »

jedberg wrote: post #43
gerdesj wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

... and where do you think new hackers come from? Personally speaking, I have no idea what a GA solver is but my initial solution would involve putting all the pieces on top of each other with their longest edges aligned - that's the maximum. Then we look at the constraints: gravity is a bit of a bugger. etc etc Keep your card and open your mind. You might be a bright lad but you can still learn to look at problems f…

> what is a GA solver Genetic Algorithm solver, I assume.

Ok, got it (thanks) - something that would simply follow the rules to find a solution yet be unable to think outside the box. It would, for example, not even "think" of dabbing a small amount of Super-Glue on the edges to achieve the theoretical maximum.

I don't recall the initial problem as stated precluding outside assistance.

My point stands: dad is pushing daughter to use the rather large brain that she has to solve a problem. Whether or not she becomes a Hacker as we know it does not matter - she is learning critical and analytical thought processes through this game.

That is one of the many gifts that any parent can bestow on their progeny and I'm impressed at his approach in this case. Society as a whole becomes a little richer as a whole through these little steps.

Re: Tallest Lego building with 4 pieces?

#50

Post by striking »

jacquesm wrote: post #39
falsedan wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Slamming my nerd card down so hard the whole table spins around It's hacker news, not motivational team building shared insight news. I'd expect a GA solver which selected the four pieces which could be constructed into the tallest possible structure (with all the dirty tricks e.g. a boat hull attached to a wobbly assemblage of Giant Base/wing plates with a 12x24 brick balanced on the top), with a Speculation section…

No, the whole elegance here is in the simplicity of the puzzle, and no child would get excited about anything like what you are suggesting. Unless you're missing a /s tag somewhere.

I think the sarcasm is too strong for it not to be a parody of the lightest-gray comments in this thread.
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