Thanks so much for this link. I remain convinced that papers are so much more understandable with an accompanying talk by the creators. I wish papers would just come with a video talk included.
Exactly, the authors get to eschew the formalism required in papers. Often the core ideas of research are simple in themselves and the real complexity lies in formally proving the results.
Also, I'd not be surprised if someone already invented and used this funnel hashing technique in say the 80's in some game or whatnot but just never realized what they had stumbled onto. Not to diminish the research, it's very ingenius.
I think papers make good references. I think of it more like the equivalent of a "datasheet" for an electronic part, say. Once you understand the intricacies, it's a valuable reference but more often than not, it's not very good and conveying motivation or intuition.
Also, I'd not be surprised if someone already invented and used this funnel hashing technique in say the 80's in some game or whatnot but just never realized what they had stumbled onto. Not to diminish the research, it's very ingenius.