
HAKMEM (1972) - joubert
http://www.inwap.com/pdp10/hbaker/hakmem/hakmem.html
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EdwardCoffin
I think there's a typo in HAKMEM: item 70 is a chess problem purportedly
stolen from Lasker's _Chess for Fun, Chess for Blood_. As far as I can tell,
it is problem 66 from Lasker's book, on page 145 [1]. However, there's a
crucial mistake: the white bishop is supposed to be on QB8 (f8), not QB7 (f7).
HAKMEM's version [3] is still a mate in 3 like advertised, but the original
problem as Lasker has it [2] is _much_ more interesting.

[1] You can see it on Google Books
[https://books.google.ca/books?id=y90UTQeLeeIC&pg=PA145](https://books.google.ca/books?id=y90UTQeLeeIC&pg=PA145)

[2] FEN for Lasker's version: 5B2/6P1/1p6/8/1N6/kP6/2K5/8 w - - 1 1

[3] FEN for HAKMEM's version: 8/5BP1/1p6/8/1N6/kP6/2K5/8 w - - 1 1

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alister
People that write memos, articles, papers, blogs, or reports need to start off
with a 2-sentence Wikipedia-style description of what it is that we're looking
at:

 _HAKMEM, alternatively known as AI Memo 239, is a February 1972 "memo"
(technical report) of the MIT AI Lab containing a wide variety of hacks,
including useful and clever algorithms for mathematical computation, some
number theory and schematic diagrams for hardware — in Guy L. Steele's words,
"a bizarre and eclectic potpourri of technical trivia". Contributors included
about two dozen members and associates of the AI Lab. The title of the report
is short for "hacks memo"._ \-- Wikipedia

EDIT: I'm aware that further down the memo says, _" Here is some little known
data which may be of interest to computer hackers."_ But that's not very
helpful; hackers might be interested in a lot of things like cryptography,
space flight, electronics, and typesetting, just looking at the HN front page.

~~~
pjc50
Otherwise known as an "abstract". Arguably this document has one, but it's a
few lines down behind what would in the printed original be on the inside
front cover.

 _" Here is some little known data which may be of interest to computer
hackers. The items and examples are so sketchy that to decipher them may
require more sincerity and curiosity than a non-hacker can muster. Doubtless,
little of this is new, but nowadays it's hard to tell. So we must be content
to give you an insight, or save you some cycles, and to welcome further
contributions of items, new or used."_

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dang
Prior discussions:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=HAKMEM%20points%3E10&sort=byDa...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=HAKMEM%20points%3E10&sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=story&storyText=false&prefix&page=0).

~~~
eternalban
Why cutoff at 10, Dang?

Let's try this again:
[https://hn.algolia.com/?query=HAKMEM&sort=byDate&dateRange=a...](https://hn.algolia.com/?query=HAKMEM&sort=byDate&dateRange=all&type=story&storyText=false&prefix=false&page=0)

~~~
dang
I was trying to omit the threads with no comments. "> 4" would have been
better.

