[HN Gopher] An Algorithm for a Better Bookshelf
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       An Algorithm for a Better Bookshelf
        
       Author : pseudolus
       Score  : 45 points
       Date   : 2025-07-01 10:12 UTC (2 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (cacm.acm.org)
 (TXT) w3m dump (cacm.acm.org)
        
       | skeeter2020 wrote:
       | Aside from the topic, which is interesting in a nerdy, rabbit-
       | hole way, I found it immensely calming that despite today's
       | relentless, exhausting AI sonic boom, there are people working to
       | optimize a 50-yr-old algorithm for doing something both mundane
       | and very applicable. Maybe humanity is not doomed after all.
        
         | frutiger wrote:
         | But unfortunately HN comment threads are still about AI or
         | about other comments even when the OP is not.
        
       | jasonthorsness wrote:
       | "Their new algorithm adapts to an adversary's strategy, but on
       | time scales that it picks randomly"
       | 
       | "Even though many real-world data settings are not adversarial,
       | situations without an adversary can still sometimes involve
       | sudden floods of data to targeted spots, she noted."
       | 
       | This is pretty neat. I bet this will find practical applications.
        
         | rented_mule wrote:
         | Yeah, this seems applicable to algorithmic management of fill
         | factor in B+ tree based databases.
        
         | troelsSteegin wrote:
         | Are "adversaries" broadly used in algorithm design? I've not
         | seen that before. I'm used to edge cases and trying to break
         | things, but an "adversary", especially white box, seems
         | different.
        
       | dragontamer wrote:
       | > said Guy Blelloch
       | 
       | Oh jeez now I have to read the rest.
       | 
       | More people need to read Blellochs PH.D Thesis. Vector models for
       | data-parallel computing. It's a mind blowing way to think of
       | parallel computation.
       | 
       | This is perhaps one of the best parallel programming / parallel
       | data structures professors on the planet.
       | 
       | ------
       | 
       | Awwww it's not so much about Blellochs work but I steady he's
       | probably the guy ACM had to help explain and understand this new
       | paper on the Bookshelf problem. Still great read though, but I
       | was hoping for some crazy parallel programming application here.
        
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