
Dijkstra's shortest path algorithm was designed in 20 minutes - mettamage
https://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2010/8/96632-an-interview-with-edsger-w-dijkstra/fulltext
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jgrahamc
See also my talk about "Big Data" in the 1950s:
[http://blog.jgc.org/2012/10/the-great-railway-caper-big-
data...](http://blog.jgc.org/2012/10/the-great-railway-caper-big-data-
in-1955.html)

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mettamage
There already is a HN submission of this (see
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14112814](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14112814)
). But I found this so amazing, I feel it should be viewed by more people. One
of the most famous algorithms (one that I learned in a CS course called graph
theory) devised in 20 minutes! Wow :)

CTRL + F on:

There's a curious story behind your "shortest path" algorithm.

~~~
gus_massa
There is a probably fake anecdote about Picasso. It's repeated everywhere on
the internet:
[https://www.google.com/search?q=picasso+5+minutes](https://www.google.com/search?q=picasso+5+minutes)

In spite it's probably fake I think it's enlighten here. You must consider not
only the 20 minutes to devise it, but also the 5 or 10 or 20 years he was
studding before this.

