5 ms·

And that a bubble sort probably isn't the the most efficient way to sort one million 32-bit integers

by bapbap 18y ago

mynameishere 18y ago
Yeah. That matters. You're joking, but a lot of people actually voted for him for equally trivial reasons.
- snprbob86 18y ago
  When jokingly asked by Eric Schmidt, "How would you sort 1 million integers?", Obama actually answered "Well I'd bet that the bubble sort is not the correct approach." Certainly, knowing the answer to that question, or knowing what a bubble sort even is, doesn't make or break a candidate. But all else being equal, wouldn't you rather a president who took at least one course on computer science? Sure it is a little thing, but I found myself saying "all other things being equal" a lot about Obama. All those things added up: I voted for him.
  - mynameishere 18y ago
    No, man. Listen: Obama is smarter than McCain. He's smarter than Bush. He's smarter than me, if you can believe it. But do I care if Obama can: 1) Fix my toilet? 2) Balance my books? 3) Remove my appendix? 4) Parge my lath? 5) Sort my integers? No. All trivia.
    - jhancock 18y ago
      Have you ever parged a lath? I can assure you sir, it is not trivial.
    - hugh 18y ago
      Having had my appendix removed last week, I'm really glad I didn't have to rely on any politician to do it. Unfortunately, making the government responsible for appendix-removal is one of the things which Obama wants to do. Comparing my experiences in US hospitals ("Oh hi, here's a bed and two nurses, your surgeon and his team will be along in ten minutes") to my experiences in Australian hospitals ("Oh hi, here's a wheelchair, please wait here for six hours") I really am not keen to see the US system become more like the Australian one.
      - yummyfajitas 18y ago
        I'd let Ron Paul remove my appendix.
      - davidw 18y ago
        Well, considering how much more you pay in the US, you would expect better service. The trick would be to design a system where some minimum is guaranteed for everyone, and things are nicer for those willing to pay more.
    - rsheridan6 18y ago
      >He's smarter than me, if you can believe it. INCONCEIVABLE!
  - ojbyrne 18y ago
    While I'm happy with Obama, that sure seems like a publicity stunt. I've interviewed a lot of people for programming jobs, almost all of them can say "bubble sort is not the correct approach."
    - jrockway 18y ago
      I've interviewed a lot of people for programming jobs, almost all of them can say "bubble sort is not the correct approach." Indeed, but have you asked that question of presidential candidates?
  - Sam_Odio 18y ago
    Your comment suggests that Obama's response conveys some knowledge of CS. Really, he just had more organized campaign staff. Senator McCain was asked the same question six months earlier. The staff, realizing the question might be asked again, prepared Obama with an answer. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/business/02digi.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/business/02digi.html?_r=2&...
    - snprbob86 18y ago
      The administration isn't just one man. The executive branch is a team of people. I didn't know that McCain was asked this same question six months earlier, but I'd still give Obama the point for surrounding himself with well organized campaign staff.
      - namnori 18y ago
        A manager is only as good as his staff.
    - krschultz 18y ago
      Just look at the difference between Obama's and McCain's answer to the question "What would you change in sports" on Monday Night Football this week. Obama answers, a playoff system for college football for the top 8 teams. Do you think that is a coincidence when all of Pennsylvania wants Penn State to go to the BCS bowl and they are #3 right now? John McCain answers "elimate performance enhancing drugs". COME ON. We all know Obama didn't come up with that answer but his on the ball staffers make him look good. And Just like a CEO has to delegate a lot of work, the president has to delegate nearly everything.
      - electromagnetic 18y ago
        Obama doesn't make a single bit of difference being the president. However, all the people he chooses for his staff makes all the difference. It's like running a store, you might have an amazing manager running the place but if you've got a guy working the till who can't push a button then all the managerial magic is useless. Obama might be human gold with a soft diamondy center, but unless he actually has people who can do what needs to be done then it's useless. I think it's highly illustrated by the McCain campaign that he didn't have subordinates capable of doing the job right because he looked as warn out and tired as Bush does currently. McCain looked physically flabbergasted by what he was asked, he'd have looked better just holding up the frigging piece of paper his speech writers gave him.
  - wallflower 18y ago
    Skimmed the YouTube video of his google talk to find when he answered the bubble sort question - it's at @23:16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo) Did we expect him to answer like a prospective google hire? A modified quick sort thats guarded not to recurse too many levels deep to avoid any stack overflow errors? I'm impressed that he made an effort to connect at the techie-level. I think the intent of the tech-savvy staffers who briefed him was like when a comedian makes a reference to the Yankees while performing in NYC
- deleted 18y ago
  [deleted]
- Hexstream 18y ago
  But isn't it like this with any president?

And that a bubble sort probably isn't the the most efficient way to sort one million 32-bit integers

by bapbap 18y ago

And that a bubble sort probably isn't the the most efficient way to sort one million 32-bit integers

mynameishere 18y ago

Yeah. That matters. You're joking, but a lot of people actually voted for him for equally trivial reasons.

snprbob86 18y ago
When jokingly asked by Eric Schmidt, "How would you sort 1 million integers?", Obama actually answered "Well I'd bet that the bubble sort is not the correct approach." Certainly, knowing the answer to that question, or knowing what a bubble sort even is, doesn't make or break a candidate. But all else being equal, wouldn't you rather a president who took at least one course on computer science? Sure it is a little thing, but I found myself saying "all other things being equal" a lot about Obama. All those things added up: I voted for him.
- mynameishere 18y ago
  No, man. Listen: Obama is smarter than McCain. He's smarter than Bush. He's smarter than me, if you can believe it. But do I care if Obama can: 1) Fix my toilet? 2) Balance my books? 3) Remove my appendix? 4) Parge my lath? 5) Sort my integers? No. All trivia.
  - jhancock 18y ago
    Have you ever parged a lath? I can assure you sir, it is not trivial.
  - hugh 18y ago
    Having had my appendix removed last week, I'm really glad I didn't have to rely on any politician to do it. Unfortunately, making the government responsible for appendix-removal is one of the things which Obama wants to do. Comparing my experiences in US hospitals ("Oh hi, here's a bed and two nurses, your surgeon and his team will be along in ten minutes") to my experiences in Australian hospitals ("Oh hi, here's a wheelchair, please wait here for six hours") I really am not keen to see the US system become more like the Australian one.
    - yummyfajitas 18y ago
      I'd let Ron Paul remove my appendix.
    - davidw 18y ago
      Well, considering how much more you pay in the US, you would expect better service. The trick would be to design a system where some minimum is guaranteed for everyone, and things are nicer for those willing to pay more.
  - rsheridan6 18y ago
    >He's smarter than me, if you can believe it. INCONCEIVABLE!
- ojbyrne 18y ago
  While I'm happy with Obama, that sure seems like a publicity stunt. I've interviewed a lot of people for programming jobs, almost all of them can say "bubble sort is not the correct approach."
  - jrockway 18y ago
    I've interviewed a lot of people for programming jobs, almost all of them can say "bubble sort is not the correct approach." Indeed, but have you asked that question of presidential candidates?
- Sam_Odio 18y ago
  Your comment suggests that Obama's response conveys some knowledge of CS. Really, he just had more organized campaign staff. Senator McCain was asked the same question six months earlier. The staff, realizing the question might be asked again, prepared Obama with an answer. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/business/02digi.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/business/02digi.html?_r=2&...
  - snprbob86 18y ago
    The administration isn't just one man. The executive branch is a team of people. I didn't know that McCain was asked this same question six months earlier, but I'd still give Obama the point for surrounding himself with well organized campaign staff.
    - namnori 18y ago
      A manager is only as good as his staff.
  - krschultz 18y ago
    Just look at the difference between Obama's and McCain's answer to the question "What would you change in sports" on Monday Night Football this week. Obama answers, a playoff system for college football for the top 8 teams. Do you think that is a coincidence when all of Pennsylvania wants Penn State to go to the BCS bowl and they are #3 right now? John McCain answers "elimate performance enhancing drugs". COME ON. We all know Obama didn't come up with that answer but his on the ball staffers make him look good. And Just like a CEO has to delegate a lot of work, the president has to delegate nearly everything.
    - electromagnetic 18y ago
      Obama doesn't make a single bit of difference being the president. However, all the people he chooses for his staff makes all the difference. It's like running a store, you might have an amazing manager running the place but if you've got a guy working the till who can't push a button then all the managerial magic is useless. Obama might be human gold with a soft diamondy center, but unless he actually has people who can do what needs to be done then it's useless. I think it's highly illustrated by the McCain campaign that he didn't have subordinates capable of doing the job right because he looked as warn out and tired as Bush does currently. McCain looked physically flabbergasted by what he was asked, he'd have looked better just holding up the frigging piece of paper his speech writers gave him.
- wallflower 18y ago
  Skimmed the YouTube video of his google talk to find when he answered the bubble sort question - it's at @23:16 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4yVlPqeZwo) Did we expect him to answer like a prospective google hire? A modified quick sort thats guarded not to recurse too many levels deep to avoid any stack overflow errors? I'm impressed that he made an effort to connect at the techie-level. I think the intent of the tech-savvy staffers who briefed him was like when a comedian makes a reference to the Yankees while performing in NYC
deleted 18y ago
[deleted]
Hexstream 18y ago
But isn't it like this with any president?