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by dmethvin 1974 days ago
Okay, I'll take a little time to brag. The word count challenge here got my interest at the time, so I whipped up an assembly language version of it and iterated several times, trying to figure out the value of switching different registers. In the end, I took second place:

https://github.com/jagregory/abrash-black-book/blob/4028269f...

However, there's an interesting story behind this story. David Stafford, who came in first, posted that he thought he had the fastest solution and bet $100 that nobody could beat it. I posted my code which was significantly faster, and David tweaked it further to eventually win the challenge. Like a true person of honor, he did pay the $100 and I cashed his check.
2 comments
davidst 1973 days ago
I remember this, Dave. I was confident I had the fastest possible algorithm and you proved me wrong. It was a humbling experience but it forced me to throw out my assumptions and start over. It taught me to assume there was always a faster or better way just waiting to be discovered. TANSTATFC

You should post your code when you get a chance.

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jennyyang 1973 days ago
Very awesome that both of you are on here!
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djeiasbsbo 1973 days ago
Truly. That's the magic of Hacker News, the people behind it always show up and even give more context and insights.
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chj 1973 days ago
Recently I also had a similar experience, when I was about to call it a day, then discovered that there is another 10%.
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alfiedotwtf 1973 days ago
> but it forced me to throw out my assumptions and start over.

You already forgot what Chapter 3 was all about :)

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CamperBob2 1973 days ago
Awesome. Any day that you can take Dave and Terje to school is a good day at the office.

I have my own little footnote in that book, somewhere, and know/have hung out with most of those guys. The old saying goes, "If you ever find that you're the smartest person in the room, you need to find another room," but it doesn't say what to do if you're pretty sure you're the dumbest guy in the room. It's good that the book is still in circulation despite its age, as there's a lot of wisdom left in it.

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markus_zhang 1973 days ago
A lot of time I found myself the dumbest guy in the room but I'm getting used to it, as long as it's not a poker room or a trading room...it's a lot of fun to hang out with smart guys.
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