Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game

Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by moomin on Friday November 22, 2024 @05:28PM (#42217872)

One day it is hoped that enough mathematicians will have worked on the problem to have finally, definitively answered Steve Ballmer’s interview question. The job will be shared between them.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by mekoka on Friday November 22, 2024 @06:45PM (#42218289)

The real irony being that they show up to work just to discover that it was a software programming position.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by hehehheh on Friday November 22, 2024 @09:58PM (#42218876)

But they can't quit once they taste that sweet total comp.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by drewcoo on Saturday November 23, 2024 @04:08AM (#42219932)

The "golden abacus" instead of "golden handcuffs?"

Or as my undergrad mathematics advisor described friends who left academics for finance, "they spend their days clipping (stock) coupons instead of solving math problems - not as interesting but more interest."

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by divbzero on Saturday November 23, 2024 @04:57AM (#42220142)

s/stock/bond/

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by hehehheh on Saturday November 23, 2024 @05:21AM (#42220209)

You could be apply for grants all day and doing uber at the weekends you sell out!

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by vlovich123 on Friday November 22, 2024 @06:09PM (#42218121)

Just in time for the job to be replaced with AI.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by Onavo on Friday November 22, 2024 @06:49PM (#42218310)

Well, Terrence Tao is trying his very best to replace himself with an AI.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by pfdietz on Saturday November 23, 2024 @08:32AM (#42220765)

Which, admittedly, seems like a much harder problem.

A world in which AI churns out amazing proofs would be pretty radical though.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by Xcelerate on Saturday November 23, 2024 @08:37AM (#42220785)

Terence is fascinating in how different his thinking is even from most other mathematicians.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by vlovich123 on Saturday November 23, 2024 @12:10PM (#42221966)

I think he’s trying to replace his grad students so that he can solve even more interesting problems.

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Re:Nash equilibria in Ballmer's binary-search interview game by belter on Saturday November 23, 2024 @10:58AM (#42221540)

Rumor has it that Ballmer resigned after asking this question to a candidate named Aphyr...

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