HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: zhenyu@clotho (Zhenyu Li)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: a fun problem
Date: 21 Dec 92 21:00:53 GMT
Article-I.D.: das.1992Dec21.210053.26773
Organization: Division of Applied Sciences, Harvard University
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL8]

Ivan Popstefanija (mirsip@risky.ecs.umass.edu) wrote:
.....
:> stuff deleted.

:> The problem I had was this:
:> 12 balls, one of them is slightly different in weight than the other 11.
:> Given a balance, what's the least times you need to find that different
:> ball. 
:> The answer is, 3.
:> Now, you tell me how you could do it!


It occurs to me this problem was an exercise from one of the algorithm
classes we had at Keda (Uinversity of Science and Technology of China)
many years back. Since I still can vaguely remember the answer, I'd
like to share it with you.

WLG, let us call the 12 balls a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h, i,j,k,l.
Divide the balls into 3 groups: (a,b,c,d), (e,f,g,h) and (i,j,k,l)
In the following, W(...) is used to denote weight of a group of balls.

1) if W(a,b,c,d) = W(e,f,g,h) then all the balls (a .. h) are normal
   and the bad one is in (i,j,k,l). We pick three balls from this
   group and form the new groups (i,j) and (k,a), i.e. leave l aside
   , a is a standard ball.
  1.1) if W(i,j) = W (k,a)  then we know l is bad. 
       Use any of the other standard ball to weigh again l, we will
       know weather l is lighter or heavier.
  1.2) if W(i,j) > W (k,a) then we know that either one of i, j is
       heavier or k is lighter, but l is normal.
       Now just compare i and j. 
	1.2.1) If W(i) = W(j), then k is bad and lighter.
        1.2.2) If W(i) > W(j), then i is bad and heavier.
        1.2.3) If W(i) < W(j), then j is bad and heavier.
  1.3) W(i,j) < W(k,a) 
       This case is symmetric to 1.2) but the sense is reversed.
2) if W(a,b,c,d) < W(e,f,g,h)
   We know (i .. l) are normal and one of a,b,c,d is lighter and one
   of e,f,g,h is heavier.
   Form the new groups (a,b,e) and (f,c,i) -- leave d and g, h aside. 
   i is a standard ball.
   2.1) if W (a,b,e) = W(f,c,i) then either d is lighter or one of g, h is
        heavier. See 1.2) for the rest.
   2.2) if W(a,b,e) < W(f,c,i) 
        then we know either one of a,b is lighter or f is heavier 
	See 1.2) for the rest.
   2.3) W(a,b,e) > W (f,c,i) then either e is heavier or c is lighter.
	The last use of the balance can tell you all.
3) W(a,b,c,d) > W (e,f,g,h) 
   symmetric to 2).


The information theoretical low bound for this problem is somewhere
around 2.7 time. My friends who took the Information Theory class in Keda
told me they derived the bound in their class. 
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: utingli@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu (Tingli Pan)
Subject: Re: Two puzzles
Organization: Educational Computing Network
Date: Tue, 22 Dec 1992 19:27:36 GMT

In article <78719@hydra.gatech.EDU> ph279sw@prism.gatech.EDU (FR Siqing WEI) writes:
>In article <00965714.FA6CDFC0@Msu.oscs.montana.edu> uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu
> writes:
>>In article <9211217249.AA72498@ccmail.uoregon.edu>, Tuya@ccmail.uoregon.edu (Tu
>ya) writes:
>
>>>          1.  John starts to walk at
>
>
>|        The real question associated with this famous problem is how
>|many people have attempted and successed to solve it by series
>|summation method?
>
>AND: asking "how the hell you do it otherwise?" (same guy :^) )
>
Simple math. 2(hours of the total time the dog spent) x 10 (the speed of
the dog per hour) as the dog never changed his speed. 

But according to analytical geormetry, the dog only has walked 10 miles.

>Wei

Tingli Pan
Xref: sparky soc.culture.china:33530 soc.culture.taiwan:16558 soc.culture.korean:6677 soc.culture.japan:12856
From: mcovingt@sdcc13.ucsd.edu (Maiko Covington)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.taiwan,soc.culture.korean,soc.culture.japan
Subject: Re: Hus Fu and the Japanese
Date: 24 Dec 92 22:49:41 GMT
Followup-To: soc.culture.china
Organization: University of California, San Diego

Rikiya Asano says about the Ainu:
>It is commonsense that these people are not Caucasians just because
>their skin color is lighter. That's because of the weather! And, maybe
>inter-racial relationship with the Russians has something to do with
>this also.

Hmmm... Does anyone really know what their race relation is? They
are light skinned.. but is this really a climatic thing? How about
all the Inuit, they live up in really cold areas but they are
definitely not pale. Same with a lot of the people living in the
northeast of what was the Soviet Union (Siberia area, etc). A lot of
them look 'asian'. Does anyone know when the Ainu migrated to Japan?
Just curious...

One more question. Does anyone have a list of some Japanese words
that were derived from Ainu, besides just place names? The one I've
always been told about is 'tonakai' (reindeer). Any more?

		Maiko Covington
From: zhang@csgrad.cs.vt.edu (Yaoen Zhang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Chinese Language
Date: 22 Dec 92 21:35:50 GMT
Organization: VPI&SU Computer Science Department, Blacksburg, VA

In article  cshi@cs.ulowell.edu (Chunde Shi) writes:
>In article <01GSJW441NJ496VN9G@CWU.BITNET> TAN@CWU.BITNET writes:

>I am so glad people are interested in talking about PinYin.I believe any 
>format is better than HanZi. HanZi was designed for writing on wooded logs. 
>The wood log was precious comparing with time they need to spend at the time. So HansZi was designed to 
>have as much info as possible with limited space. Those info are desirable at 
>ancient times , but not necessary. HanZi is an artistical wonder and a 
>scientific and technolgical junk. Drop that thing sooner the better.
>I believe as computer gets spreaded among Chinese people, The cry for PinYin 
>will grow stronger.

Come on, fellows.  I would not say that Hanzi is a scientific
and technological junk.  Hanzi (Chinese, I prefer) is a
civilized language which survived a couple of thousand years
now, while English has a history of only a few handred years.  
I know that English is the main language of the Modern (Western)
Civilization.  But if you look at the future, I personally believe
that Chinese will be one of the dominant languages.  The future I
am talking about is not the very distant future.  I am refering to the
next century, maybe 20 years from now. 

PinYin is the phonetic part of the language.  It really does 
not have much siginifcance in Computer World.  For example, 
"right and write" sounds the same, but have different meanings
(a limited view).  Recently people put a lot attention on PinYin 
reform because they want to use keyboard to input Chinese 
into computers.  Everyone knows that each language has 
its unique characteristics.  For English
the keyboard is a very good input devices.  As for Chinese, it
may not be that useful.  I believe the best method for Chinese
input is directly writing on a digitized pad.  I am sure there
are a lot of research on this.  I know the Japanese did some
related research which are quite successful.  

Some people even suggest using phonetic-recognition device (and
software) to input the Chinese.  Here comes in the phonetic part
of the language.  For example, if you want to write a
novel, you just talk to a microphone.  It will translate your
sound into text (the written form).  How's that sound to you?  
I believe the technology is there.  The problem is that we have
not done much research on that.

Yaoen Zhang
zhang@csgrad.cs.vt.edu
From: xhu@pappus.ss.uci.edu (Xiangen Hu)
Subject: Find someone in Memphis State University
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Keywords: none
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Date: 1 Jan 93 19:56:58 GMT




If you are not in Memphis State University, please ignore this.




I will have a job interview in Memphis State University, and I would like to know something (from the point of view of a Chinese student) about the university, the city in general. If possible, I would like to talk (via e-mail) with the Chinese Students and Scholars Association in Memphis State University. 


        Thanks and Happy New Year! 


Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: lieqiu@alfred.carleton.ca (Liebin Qiu)
Subject: Re: old man cross river
Organization: Carleton University
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 16:56:47 GMT

In <009657A3.B52FE8A0@Msu.oscs.montana.edu> uphhswh@Msu.oscs.montana.edu writes:

>an old man in his 70s crossed a river without bridge.  the river is wide and
>deep. he wears a long scarf. there is a tree at the other side of river.
>how come?
>W.Huang


                                 /               /
                                /               /
                               /  RIVER        /
                              /               /
                             /            ___|__________\   \  l/    /
                            |       _____/   |   \       \    \l    /
                            |  ____/         |  SCARF      \   l   /
                         O  |_/              |              \  l  /
                        /|\/|                |               |   |
                         |  |                |               |   |  
                         ^  |                |               |   |
From: wangf@unixg.ubc.ca (Frank Wang)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: Yan Xin Qi Gong Seminar at Indianapolis
Date: 31 Dec 92 09:20:08 GMT
Organization: The University of British Columbia
Distribution: usa
NNTP-Posting-Host: unixg.ubc.ca

In <1hu219INN1hi@shape.mps.ohio-state.edu> wang@shape.mps.ohio-state.edu (Qi Wang) writes:


>!!!!! Great Opportunity to experience the sensational feeling of "Qi" !!!!!
>!!!!! Admission Free !!!!!
>**************************************************************************
>    
>                           YAN XIN QIGONG SEMINAR

>                           Speaker: Master Yan Xin

>**************************************************************************

>QIGONG SEMINAR: The so-called "QIGONG seminar", also named DAI(4) GONG(1) 
>BAO(4) GAO(4), is a format of lecture during which QIGONG
>masters emit "QI" energy to the audience. The audience will receive
>the energy if they are both physiologically  and psychologically relaxed. 
>Once they receive this energy, they may feel hot, cold, swelling, aching, 
>tingling, and pain inside their bodies. Some of the audience may even react
>to the energy in stronger fashions such as spontaneous smiling, crying, 
>dancing, singing, etc.. Some diseases may be cured during these processes. 
>The healing effect is significant.

>Speaker: Master Yan Xin.

>Time:  Starting at 6:30 pm, Jan. 2, 1993.

>Location: India Community Center, 4420 W. 56th St., Indianapolis.

>Sponsor: The Indianapolis Chapter of IYXQA, 
>         IYXQA(International Yan Xin Qi Gong Association), 
>         ICAA (Indianapolis Chinese American Association), 
>         IUPUI Chinese student and scholar Association, 
>         International Student Association at Butler University.

>Direction to India Community Center: 
>Find Lafayette Rd at the westside of indianapolis, go along Lafayette Rd,
>and turn to the east at the intersection of Lafayette and W. 56th St. The 
>India Community Center is three blocks east from the intersection.
>Road help phone number: 317-253-6739 ask for Qi Wang.

I was told he (Mr. Yan) could transmit his Qi through phone line
a few years ago.  I guess after so many years practice in the
United States, he probably can transmit it via net work.  I'm
really waiting for it.

Frank
From: rap@news (Ross Paterson)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: pinyin reform
Date: 21 Dec 92 13:44:05 GMT
Reply-To: rap@doc.ic.ac.uk
Organization: Dept. of Computing, Imperial College, University of London, UK.
NNTP-Posting-Host: cfast.doc.ic.ac.uk

From article <1h3u3kINNpms@iskut.ucs.ubc.ca>, by lug@oak.ppc.ubc.ca (Guoqiano Lu):
> You may not  believe that a well trained Han Zi typing person can beat
> an English counterpart.

That is surprising, given that a typist trained for an alphabetic writing
system need not lift his or her eyes from the text being copied, and can
type faster than speech, and much faster than handwriting.

What input method for hanzi was used?  Where does this study appear?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: "micky wong" <micky.wong@canrem.com>
Subject: vectorized chinese font l
Reply-To: "micky wong" <micky.wong@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: soc
Date: 3 Jan 93 23:45:10 EST

In article: <C08ytp.3CC@watdragon.uwaterloo.ca>
   Subject: Vectorized Chinese Font Lib
      From: yxu@violet.uwaterloo.ca () writes:


>Happy New Year Every One:

>    As I understand, there are two methods to represent Chinese fonts,
>    one is in dot-matrix, another is in vectors (structure).

>    Could any dear netter tell me where I can found the Chinese font
>    libraries by the second method ?

>    Thanks and wish you all lucky in the new year.

>    Yan XU
>    _______________________
>    yxu@violet.uwaterloo.ca


The dot-matrix font has another name of Raster fonts, which are stored
as bitmapped images.
These fonts cannot be scaled or easily rotated.

For the "vectors or structure" fonts you mentioned, actually there are
two different flavours, the earlier one is called vector fonts, which
are depicted by mathematical model, to define the set of lines drawn
between points. Vector fonts can be scaled to different sizes but takes
quite bit of CPU resource to do the calculation of the points.

A newer style of "vector" fonts is called the "outline fonts" or
"True type fonts", True Type fonts are stored as a collection of points
and "hints" to define the character outlines or the approximations
of characters. It is mostly used by Windows or OS/2, when true type
fonts are selected, True Type used the outline and the hints to draw
a bitmapped character in the size required.

So the True Type fonts can be highly elastic and dynamically scalable.

For Chinese Fonts, I know that Microsoft's Chinese Window uses Chinese
outline fonts. For casual home users, this font is pretty good.
(although the Chinese Window 3.0 needs improvement in its stability)

  There is a product called "Topfonts",which provides many add-on
Chinese fonts for windows in many different styles. The maker is
"Top Computech" in Vancouver B.C. Canada. These are very expensive
fonts which will be more suitable for professional type-setters or
graphics artists.

There is also a CompuFont limited in HongKong (205 Hong Kong Computer
Center  tel 852-866-3560) who specializes nothing but Chinese fonts.

Hope the above info can be useful to you.
---
 MegaMail 2.1 #0:
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Organization: Penn State University
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 01:43:13 EST
From: <XXX100@psuvm.psu.edu>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: A not-so-fun question

 >From: Tuya@ccmail.uoregon.edu (Tuya)
 >Subject: A not-so-fun question
 >Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 19:20:23 GMT
 >
 >          There are M objects of various sizes (ti3 ji1).
 >
 >          There is a bag which can hold more than 0 but fewer than M
 >          of these objects.
 >
 >          Can you give a method to decide which of these M objects
 >          should be put into the bag so the total volume of the
 >          objects put into the bag is maximized?

                     Make a hole on the bottom of the
                     bag.
                     You can put whatever size or volume or
                     number of objects into the bag.
                     And no max.
From: viczhu@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (yi zhu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Happy Birthday!!!
Date: 1 Jan 93 02:45:56 GMT
Reply-To: viczhu@ccwf.cc.utexas.edu (yi zhu)
Organization: The University of Texas at Austin, Austin TX
Originator: viczhu@happy.cc.utexas.edu

Happy birthday!my dear. I am so sorry for what I did at the same day as three
years ago. I will never forgive me. My heart's broken because I lost all of you.

Wish you could hear this.


                                                          sansan
From: cayula@gandalf.gso.uri.edu (Jean-Francois Cayula)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: Newwer China
Date: 1 Jan 1993 18:26:19 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

I wondered a little bit whether I should reply to your posting.
I apologize if I am a bit sarcastic, but it's difficult to remain
serious. 
In article <C03GM9.82G@uxa.ecn.bgu.edu> you write:
|>      Remember, it's not a matter of money on the Chinese side. and $2B
|>  is too little to consider for a nation with 10B people.
Of course, a country with 100 Billion people (why not?) should not care about
a mere $2 billion, specially when you consider that China is so wealthy.
|> 
|>      I can understand, in most situations, Chinese and French can not
|>  understand each other, too much differences in these two groups of
|>  people/culture....in WWII, Chinese fought 8 years bloody battle with
|>  wooden sticks and knifes and rocks agains the invading modern Japanese
|>  army, while the French surrendered to German in days.... just one 
|>  example.
Have ever noticed that population wise, Germany is bigger than France?
Do you think that all French people capitulated or colaborated? Have you
ever heard of General De Gaule or Jean Moulin to mention just two? Actually,
the current French president was also a member of the armed resistance
movement. But all French were cowards while Chinese were super heroes!
|> 
|>      I'm very sure, on the issur of HongKong and France, the Chinese
|>  government  have the support of most, if not all Chinese.A
|>      American have a treaty with Taiwan, and F-16 is out of date, but
|>  how about the French, it recognize the PRC as the only Government of
|>  China including Taiwan province, but it sells  most advanced weapons
|>  to one of it's province, what's more, the weapons' only target is
|>  the reat of the PRC.
Let's put it this way, it's much closer to reality: the USA is a much
bigger country than France. 
|> 
|>     Just think about it! Do you still thing the French is doing anything
|>  right? it's really a shame. what kind of people would do anything only
|>  for money? (I did see a lot of this kind of people in certral Paris,I 
|>  was really surprised)
That's right, China doesn't sell weapons to anybody. No, sorry, China only
sells to the good guys... like Irak for example... And in China, nobody
cares about money, people only care about their fellow human beings.
Yes, everybody is so honest there, it is well known that there is 
no corruption in China. 
|> 
|>   Happy new year! Xin nian hao! bonne nouvelle annee.
I wish the same to you, Zhu4 ni3 yi1yang4, de meme pour toi...
From: mkakulav@essex.ecn.uoknor.edu (Mohan Kakulavarapu)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: REPOST OF ALL THE MATH PROBLEMS & THEIR SOLUTIONS ..... !
Date: 23 Dec 92 06:06:42 GMT
Organization: Engineering Computer Network, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK, USA



Hi pals,

could some-one mail me acopy of all the problems and their solutions. I lost 
them accidently.

thanks in advance
kishan
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: Tuya@ccmail.uoregon.edu (Tuya)
Subject: A not-so-fun question
Organization: Indiana University
Date: Wed, 23 Dec 1992 19:20:23 GMT

          There are M objects of various sizes (ti3 ji1).

          There is a bag which can hold more than 0 but fewer than M
          of these objects.

          Can you give a method to decide which of these M objects
          should be put into the bag so the total volume of the
          objects put into the bag is maximized?
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: cyc@quip.eecs.umich.edu (Yi-Chieh Chang)
Subject: Re: DATA: largest world economies
Organization: University of Michigan EECS Dept., Ann Arbor
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 16:58:55 GMT

>>Taiwan belongs to ROC and the people lived in Taiwan.
>>Why Chinese are so addicted to force other people to become Chinese 
>>while so many Chinese want to be American ? That's I called fuck!
>You will hard time to convince we Chinese on that, you may have to hear sound ofbullets, if you refuse to listen to sound of  Chinese voice. That is all.

Sounds stupid. Usually, I don't listen to stupid sounds, thats all.

Yi-Chieh
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china,soc.culture.hongkong
From: stgprao@st.unocal.COM (Richard Ottolini)
Subject: Re: pinyin reform
Organization: Unocal Corporation
Date: Mon, 21 Dec 1992 16:27:14 GMT

Hundreds of Latin alphabet representations of the 60 sounds and 1200
syllables in the Beijing dialect have been proposed over the last
century and half. The choice of pinyin was made in part on merit and in part
on politics.  It was made 43 years ago and is a fact of life now, no
matter the flaws.
It is like English spelling.  One gets used to a given system even if it
is flawed.
From: chx@dblab.is.tsukuba.ac.jp (Chen Han Xiong)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
Subject: Re: An Old Arithmatic Problem
Date: 24 Dec 92 01:26:06 GMT
	<1992Dec18.030842.3141@news.cs.brandeis.edu>
Organization: Inst. of Info. Sci. & Elec., Univ. of Tsukuba, Tsukuba City,
	Ibaraki, Japan

In article <1992Dec18.030842.3141@news.cs.brandeis.edu> xi@binah.cc.brandeis.edu writes:


  >> 5 * ( 5 - 1/5) = 5*4.8 = 24

It's a funny you calculated this way. So,

7*(3+3/7) = 7*3.4285714... =(?)= 24
--
                                            
  ::	Hanxiong Chen 
  ::    Email: chx@dblab.is.tsukuba.ac.jp   
Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: engp2030@nusunix1.nus.sg (WU HU)
Subject: Two puzzles
Organization: National University of Singapore
X-Newsreader: TIN [version 1.1 PL6]
Date: Thu, 24 Dec 1992 06:32:13 GMT


In Feng Wang's reply:

>The famous mathematician and computer scientist, von Neumann, was presented
>this problem by his friend when he was in hospital.  He gave the answer in
>a matter of seconds.  His friend asked him how he did it, he replied, "why,
>I summed the infinite series."

My question is: if the series is infinite, How long is the dog?
Is it a infinite point?


Newsgroups: soc.culture.china
From: "micky wong" <micky.wong@canrem.com>
Subject: [sad news] obituary:mr. f
Reply-To: "micky wong" <micky.wong@canrem.com>
Organization: Canada Remote Systems
Distribution: soc
Date: 2 Jan 93 15:13:09 EST

In Article: <C06ryo.4Lo@news.udel.edu>
   Subject: [Sad News] Obituary:Mr. Feng Zuo Peng Passed Away
      From: gbc@brahms.udel.edu (Baochun Ge) writes:

>Shouldn't you restrict such message at least to austrilia?

How do you know that the deceased did not have friends or relatives in
other parts of the world?
--
Canada Remote Systems  - Toronto, Ontario
World's Largest PCBOARD System - 416-629-7000/629-7044
Xref: sparky soc.culture.china:33491 soc.culture.taiwan:16531 soc.culture.korean:6657 soc.culture.japan:12824