Re: FN-FORUM: Challenge

date posted 25th May 2007 01:29

On Thursday 24 May 2007 11:23 pm, [EMAIL REMOVED] wro=
te:

> I don't know of anything pre-written, but I'm not seeing a major headac=
he
> here.

As Carrie points out, it's the travelling salesman problem, which has giv=
en=20
a lot of top-flight mathematicians first-class headaches over the years..=
=2E
but algorithms exist that produce close-to-optimal solutions and I'm sure=
=20
(or at least I'd hope) that the various solutions pointed to by list=20
members incorporate these!

Going slightly off-topic I remember reading that FedEx have (or had)
an empty cargo plane taking off every night that traverses the=20
continental US. If everything goes to plan it will, having followed
a carefully planned yet erratic route, arrive at its destination empty.

But if one of FedEx's other cargo planes "goes tech", then it diverts=20
and picks up the load and takes it where it was going.

Nice example of backup / redundancy from another industry.

Going further off-topic, I heard a story of an RAF transport aircraft and=
=20
crew stranded in the Bahamas for a few days while they waited for a spare=
=20
part to be flown out. But nobody on that crew will *ever* admit to=20
having taker a hammer to the original part on arrival in that dreadfully
sunny and beach-endowed part of the world...

--=20
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