Problem Solving for Fun
Through the various companies I've been to, problem solving is essential to getting anything done. Generally, there isn't enough time and resources to accomplish many tasks; the combination of organization and a little innovation pays off in the long run.
This page then highlights problem solving in a fun manner, assuming then that you would agree that more detailed discussion of problem solving in a professional environment might be dull and possibly unethical beyond what is on my resume. I guess I'm saying that in a commercial and personal context, problem solving to me is a part of life, and one I do enjoy.
Solving the Ultimate Puzzle (48 Solutions in 9x1022 Possible Combinations)
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Seeing the puzzle at the Calgary Stampede and realising that the puzzle could possibly be solved with some innovative computer algorithms, I bought the puzzle and founded a team to solve The Ultimate Puzzle. My task was to actually solve the puzzle, which I did by using Visual C++ (banking on our 1st year C++ course). It was one of the more interesting feats I've done; numerically, it would be impossible to brute-force solutions out, and thus we had to consider assumptions to cut down on processing. |
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One of our outputs from the project after the competition (kudos to Nathaniel Rossol, our team 3D expert) is a 3D program that attempts to solve (graphically), piece by piece, the Ultimate Puzzle. The picture shown here is a screen capture from the program during its attempt to solve the puzzle, and a sample image of a completed puzzle is included on the bottom right of the picture. |
Game: Othello
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I designed Othello/Reversi with VBA during my assignment in Australia, when downtime from the weather or work meant leisurely programming for me. Using no more than Word and Paintbrush, it took about 2-3 days to do this, and it was my first attempt at "game" programming. |