Stack Overflow Tinder, A Tango with Smart Questions

18 Dec 2019

What is a smart question? I think we intuitively know the answer; if I showed you two questions, you could probably tell me which one was smart and which one was more … intellectually simple.

You’ve probably heard that when meeting people for the first time, we make a lighting fast decision about whether we like them or not. This is especially true on the esteemed dating platform, Tinder, a dating app where you accept/reject a person after judging them by a few pictures and a short bio. I think there’s a comparison to be made between choosing a date and choosing a question; and in doing so, maybe we can find out what makes a question a smart one?

Let’s play a game of StackOverflow Tinder, shall we?

Start From the Top:

In lieu of a picture; based on the title, which question would you choose?

A: Maximum number of components per activity Android

B: Why is processing a sorted array faster than processing an unsorted array?

A: First off, “Question” A isn’t even a question! It sounds like a google search - the author could just copy and paste it. It sounds like something that would require you to ask a question for clarification. It sounds like extra work on your part, if you choose to accept it.

B: Right off the bat, B hits us with a specific question, which I think makes it seem more approachable because you know what to do with this inquiry. The structure of B’s title steers you to a future answer such as “processing a sorted array is faster because…”. You already know if your efforts are going to be worth anything because you can measure if you’ve answered the question. You are definitely getting off on the right foot!

Bio or Goodbye?

Let’s say you decide to give them a chance and read their “bio”.

A:

Is there a limit as to how many components an android activity can hold? And how does it affect the application’s performance? Thank you.

B:

Here is a piece of C++ code that shows some very peculiar behavior. For some strange reason, sorting the data miraculously makes the code almost six times faster:

#include <algorithm>
#include <ctime>
#include <iostream>

int main()
{
    // Generate data
    const unsigned arraySize = 32768;
    int data[arraySize];

    for (unsigned c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
        data[c] = std::rand() % 256;


    // !!! With this, the next loop runs faster.
    std::sort(data, data + arraySize);


    // Test
    clock_t start = clock();
    long long sum = 0;

    for (unsigned i = 0; i < 100000; ++i)
    {
        // Primary loop
        for (unsigned c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
        {
            if (data[c] >= 128)
                sum += data[c];
        }
    }

    double elapsedTime = static_cast<double>(clock() - start) / CLOCKS_PER_SEC;

    std::cout << elapsedTime << std::endl;
    std::cout << "sum = " << sum << std::endl;
}

Initially I thought this might be just a language or compiler anomaly, so I tried Java:

 import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.Random;

public class Main
{
    public static void main(String[] args)
    {
        // Generate data
        int arraySize = 32768;
        int data[] = new int[arraySize];

        Random rnd = new Random(0);
        for (int c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
            data[c] = rnd.nextInt() % 256;


        // !!! With this, the next loop runs faster
        Arrays.sort(data);


        // Test
        long start = System.nanoTime();
        long sum = 0;

        for (int i = 0; i < 100000; ++i)
        {
            // Primary loop
            for (int c = 0; c < arraySize; ++c)
            {
                if (data[c] >= 128)
                    sum += data[c];
            }
        }

        System.out.println((System.nanoTime() - start) / 1000000000.0);
        System.out.println("sum = " + sum);
    }
}

with a similar but less extreme result.

My first thought was that sorting brings the data into the cache, but then I thought how silly that was because the array was just generated.

A: A asks a couple questions now, but you are probably still wondering about the details - such as what aspect of performance are they trying to monitor? Would you even know where to begin? Even a little context might be helpful; if, given the circumstances, performance isn’t a necessary consideration, any effort you did to research the question might be for nothing. At least A is polite and ends with a thank you.

B: Even though B is very wordy, you know by the amount of work that was put into asking the question, any effort you make to help them will be meaningful. Being straightforward and to the point shows maturity through the acknowledgement and respect of people’s time, effort, and expertise.

Verdict:

Is it really a comparison? I think B is one to theoretically swipe right on. It’s the smarter question because; it asks a specific, meaningful question with context and background research. It’s the smarter question because it respects its audience.

When you don’t have the ability to talk to the person behind the bio, behind the picture, behind the question, you will only be able to analyze them by the pieces of information they release to the world. The construction of the question becomes the data by which you judge the person - and decide if you want to give them a moment of your hard-earned time and expertise.