I have become interested in puzzles and problem solving. A few days ago, a friend emailed me details of Google Code Jam; the registration of which is closing today.
I tried the practice tests and got ranked at 113 out of 1000 participants after solving 1 of 3 problems. I have to do 2 more but I feel very tired for that.
In fact, the last 800 coders have 0 score (it might be that they have not attempted any problem at all?) while the top coders have astonishing scores. The speed at which the top coders have solved the problems is more than average earthling's typing speed, i.e., even if an average typist already knows the solutions, he can't type that fast. Or it might be that they have cheated by solving the problems once and then re-registering with a different id; then, you just need to copy-paste your old solution.
At some point in time, I didn't like these competitions. I was always bad at coding against time or perhaps, I was afraid of losing. Now, the situation is very different.
But some people enjoy programming competitions! See Mansur's Trash Can, for example. I am trying to motivate myself to the level where I start enjoying such activity.
I tried the practice tests and got ranked at 113 out of 1000 participants after solving 1 of 3 problems. I have to do 2 more but I feel very tired for that.
In fact, the last 800 coders have 0 score (it might be that they have not attempted any problem at all?) while the top coders have astonishing scores. The speed at which the top coders have solved the problems is more than average earthling's typing speed, i.e., even if an average typist already knows the solutions, he can't type that fast. Or it might be that they have cheated by solving the problems once and then re-registering with a different id; then, you just need to copy-paste your old solution.
At some point in time, I didn't like these competitions. I was always bad at coding against time or perhaps, I was afraid of losing. Now, the situation is very different.
But some people enjoy programming competitions! See Mansur's Trash Can, for example. I am trying to motivate myself to the level where I start enjoying such activity.
No comments:
Post a Comment