trt (07/16/82)
"Why are computer people so enamored of the brute force approach to problem solving?" Perhaps you are really asking why computer people like to use computers to solve puzzles, but the answer seems obvious, so I will instead take your question literally. In this instance (ABCDE) a trivial calculation shows that mindless brute force will get the answer in a few seconds. So one has guaranteed success from guaranteed small effort. The "pen and paper and a little reasoning" approach has no guarantee. Generalizing: (1) The brute force approach is easy to analyze. (2) The brute force approach is easy to implement. In a few cases, brute force is *best* known method. In computer chess the "brute force" programs have proven to be far better than the "intelligent" ones. What does that say about the intelligence of their authors? Tom Truscott (duke!trt)