Re:Ask HN: Can engineers from Google or Facebook solve white...
by edanm on Wednesday August 15, 2018 @12:24AM
(#17763758)
I agree in principle. But imo in reality, what actually happens is:
1. Most data sets are roughly similar (or at least fall into one of a few cases).
2. Most algorithms are designed beforehand, on ideas of what data could be, not necessarily for actual data.
Take for example sort algs. Sure, you could look at your data and devise a sort that exactly matches it most effectively. But in reality, in most cases, people just use quick sort, which is proven to be efficient on most data sets.
1. Most data sets are roughly similar (or at least fall into one of a few cases).
2. Most algorithms are designed beforehand, on ideas of what data could be, not necessarily for actual data.
Take for example sort algs. Sure, you could look at your data and devise a sort that exactly matches it most effectively. But in reality, in most cases, people just use quick sort, which is proven to be efficient on most data sets.