I think KC must read this plz

[Charmayne Brentley]

(09-28-2016 10:22 PM)Tad Carlucci Wrote:  

(09-28-2016 08:03 PM)Jelly Supply Wrote:  I think there must be a happy medium

There is the problem.

If I freeze everything and make the model, yes, there is a 'happy medium'. But producing a box .. just one, mind you .. moves that 'happy medium' someplace else.

So, the 'happy medium' needs to be recomputed after every box. Right? Well, not so fast! Sure, it's a computer and it can do the work. But will it actually achieve the desired results?

No.

What happens is this box gets created (we'll call it the Right box). This pushes the happy medium shifts a bit to the left. So the next box (call it Left) is a bit left of the happy point. That shifts the point right.

Now, if I eliminate randomness, eventually that shifting a bit left and a bit right settles down. It will never hit the 'happy medium' but it will never be very far from it.

But I had to eliminate randomness for that to occur!

That means your cats will be boringly predictable. You'll know, even before you produce them, that the next will, or will not, be what you want.

So, what happens? Well, of course, you SKIP that box, don't you? You know, going it you're not going to want it. Why bother? Seems reasonable, right?

So, the model settles down to a nice, predictable 'happy medium' and what happens? THE USERS $%&* IT UP!!! Suddenly everybody is skipping the 'Left' boxes and only taking the 'Right'.

No problem, that just moves the 'happy medium' to the left and left and left again.. y'all wanted 'good, Right boxes'? Foo. I'm going to make nothing but 'crappy, Left boxes'! AND THE MORE YOU TRY THE HARDER I WILL FIGHT BACK!!!

So, I put randomness back in.

And what happens?

For a while, nothing.

But, one day, not too far in the future, randomness kicks the handcart over! Instead of the users #$%^ing up that 'happy medium' randomness does!

Now, wait, you say, that can't go on forever. Pretty soon randomness will move elsewhere and it'll settle back down.

Right?

Right?

Well, maybe. It's random, after all!

Maybe it settles down, or maybe it doesn't. Maybe it gets worse. Maybe it gets so bad that instead of working toward that 'happy medium' the swings left and right get larger instead of smaller.

Once that happens there is only one solution: start over. Delete all the boxes and cats and all their history and hope it's a good long time until you have to start over, again.

I've modeled it this way. I've modeled it that way. And there are only two choices: eliminate the users, or eliminate randomness (which, probably, leads to eliminating the users but that's another issue entirely).

So, yes, there's a 'happy medium' but you **REALLY** don't want 'the system' to search for it because either YOU (all of you) will screw it up, or, randomness will.

That means we have to accept either the population explodes and prices crash (normal cats) or the population crashes but prices remain high (Confetti cats).

Sorry.

OMG Tad! You lost me in the first sentence....My eyes are glazed. But thanks, I guess.