Re: Best solution definition
- To: mathgroup at christensen.cybernetics.net
- Subject: [mg623] Re: [mg613] Best solution definition
- From: robert_nachbar at merck.com (Robert Nachbar)
- Date: Fri, 31 Mar 1995 08:52:43 -0500
On Mar 28, 11:04am, REECE_D wrote:
> Frequently
> when a problem is posed on this group, the way the "best" solution is
> defined is by timing alone. I have always thought one of the appeals about
> MMA is how naturally a solution flows from the typical pencil and paper
> approach. Frequently this doesn't lead to the fastest solution but
> definitely the easiest to read.
don't forget abour *your* time to figure a faster solution! if the "natural"
representation calulation runs in 1 minute, and it takes you 15 minutes to find
a faster though less elegant solution that runs in 15 seconds, which is better?
unless you're going to repeatedly reuse your result/code, my feeling is that
the simpler (and probably more elegant) solution is better.
bob
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Dr. Robert B. Nachbar | Merck Research Laboratories | 908/594-7795
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