If they knew it from working at Meta, it wouldn't be O(n), it would be O(1).
replyI agree that there will be cases where you implement tricks that others have had before you, without knowing. A few years ago, I had a delightful idea, experimented and wrote it up. One commenter directed me to a post that described it as "folk knowledge". There will be other cases where you encountered an idea before, but didn't remember it.
Still, crediting what you can easily know you cited is good. Even aside from credit, comparisons to existing systems are part of how we understand what a system does.
Okay, well, I actually do think it is part of the basic duty of an engineer to do that.
replyI do, solely on the basis of "there are a lot of smart(er) people in the world, and very few truly novel problems".
replyThe first step in approaching anything difficult is seeing whether someone else has already solved it.
I see. Well, I suppose we differ on this matter of opinion. May the chips land where they may.
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