Forum Index > Trail Talk > Can Math Help You Escape A Hungry Bear?
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Bootpathguy
Member
Member


Joined: 18 Jun 2015
Posts: 1787 | TRs | Pics
Location: United States
Bootpathguy
Member
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 6:58 pm 
https://www.quantamagazine.org/can-math-help-you-escape-a-hungry-bear-20210629/

Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want

neek, Cyclopath
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 7:00 pm 
Bears can swim, so the premise of the puzzle is flawed.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
monorail
Member
Member


Joined: 06 May 2012
Posts: 267 | TRs | Pics
monorail
Member
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 7:26 pm 
Math will not help you. Bears are much better at math than we are.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
philfort
Member
Member


Joined: 02 Sep 2003
Posts: 437 | TRs | Pics
Location: seattle
philfort
Member
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 7:28 pm 
Randito wrote:
Bears can swim, so the premise of the puzzle is flawed.
But apparently not as fast as the swimmer in question:
Randito wrote:
the bear wasn’t venturing into the lake, where the swimmer could have easily outdistanced it

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Cyclopath
Faster than light



Joined: 20 Mar 2012
Posts: 7697 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 8:06 pm 
I always ride my bike to the lake, I know about wilderness/predator triathlon.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist



Joined: 07 Sep 2018
Posts: 2410 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Anne Elk
BrontosaurusTheorist
PostMon Aug 30, 2021 10:24 pm 
Dunno about math, but the NY Times just put out a more sensible quiz. basing your odds on bear knowledge: Could you survive a run-in with a bear? There was no "share" button for this one, so hopefully non-subscribers can get past the paywall for one article.

"There are yahoos out there. It’s why we can’t have nice things." - Tom Mahood
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!



Joined: 25 Dec 2006
Posts: 11272 | TRs | Pics
Location: Don't move here
treeswarper
Alleged Sockpuppet!
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 7:26 am 
I thought it said Meth.

What's especially fun about sock puppets is that you can make each one unique and individual, so that they each have special characters. And they don't have to be human––animals and aliens are great possibilities

thunderhead
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Randito
Snarky Member



Joined: 27 Jul 2008
Posts: 9495 | TRs | Pics
Location: Bellevue at the moment.
Randito
Snarky Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 10:50 am 
philfort wrote:
Randito wrote:
Bears can swim, so the premise of the puzzle is flawed.
But apparently not as fast as the swimmer in question:
Randito wrote:
the bear wasn’t venturing into the lake, where the swimmer could have easily outdistanced it
Again the puzzle is based on false information -- not only can bears swim, but they are much faster swimmers than humans. (Micheal Phelps can manage 6 mph, a polar bear 25 mph, even if a grizz is 1/3 the speed of a polar bear, it is still going to get you) If this puzzle was used as an interview question, which would be the best response to the puzzle, ignoring the real world facts and solving the topology question formulated -- or pointing out the flaws in the puzzle premise? Also if the interviewer took objection to you pointing out the flaws in the premise of the puzzle -- how would this affect the desirablity of employment offered to you? Does the company reward or punish people that think beyond the narrow constraints offered them? If the interviewer's response was something like "yeah we know the premise if flawed, we are just using it to see if you can solve this topological puzzle" that wouldn't be a red flag -- but if it was "Just answer the question" -- this would be a red flag that working there could be unpleasant.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
neek
Member
Member


Joined: 12 Sep 2011
Posts: 2329 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle, WA
neek
Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 10:58 am 
Dude it's just a fun math puzzle, not supposed to be based on reality. They could have chosen robots and aliens. Your last paragraph is right on though. These sorts of brain teasers are no longer favored in tech interviews fwiw.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Bootpathguy
Member
Member


Joined: 18 Jun 2015
Posts: 1787 | TRs | Pics
Location: United States
Bootpathguy
Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 11:17 am 
Dummies! It's a circle! The answer is "infinity"

Experience is what'cha get, when you get what'cha don't want
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
neek
Member
Member


Joined: 12 Sep 2011
Posts: 2329 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle, WA
neek
Member
PostTue Aug 31, 2021 11:28 am 
Bootpathguy wrote:
Dummies! It's a circle! The answer is "infinity"
Oh! Like most of the arguments around here! lol.gif

Anne Elk, Cyclopath
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
crock
Member
Member


Joined: 14 Aug 2004
Posts: 103 | TRs | Pics
Location: Newcastle
crock
Member
PostThu Sep 02, 2021 11:47 am 
Randito wrote:
not only can bears swim, but they are much faster swimmers than humans. (Micheal Phelps can manage 6 mph, a polar bear 25 mph, even if a grizz is 1/3 the speed of a polar bear, it is still going to get you)
A really fast swimmer goes about 5 mph. Record times for 50 meter races are a bit faster than 5 mph because of diving off the block starts and pushing off the walls on flip-turns. Polar bears can swim a bit faster than the fastest humans, about 6 mph, but no where near 25 mph.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Cyclopath
Faster than light



Joined: 20 Mar 2012
Posts: 7697 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
Cyclopath
Faster than light
PostThu Sep 02, 2021 12:51 pm 
They probably don't build outdoor swimming holes in polar bear country. wink.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Pyrites
Member
Member


Joined: 16 Sep 2014
Posts: 1880 | TRs | Pics
Location: South Sound
Pyrites
Member
PostThu Sep 02, 2021 2:07 pm 
The USCG posts someone with a rifle when people are on the Arctic Sea ice next to an icebreaker.

Keep Calm and Carry On? Heck No. Stay Excited and Get Outside!
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Navy salad
Member
Member


Joined: 09 Sep 2008
Posts: 1864 | TRs | Pics
Location: Woodinville
Navy salad
Member
PostThu Sep 02, 2021 2:23 pm 
25 mph is a polar bear's fastest running speed, not swimming speed. (See link). The fastest swimming speed is reported as 6.2 mph.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trail Talk > Can Math Help You Escape A Hungry Bear?
  Happy Birthday noahk!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum