A Tinker’s Trade - Lauren Ipsum: A Story About Computer Science and Other Improbable Things - page 26

“Cents? We use Fair Coins here.”
“What's a Fair Coin?”
“Well, they are a bit bigger than these Quarter Dollars of yours, but not nearly as pretty! You
can tell genuine Fair Coins because they always flip heads or tails, fifty-fifty.”
“But you can flip quarters fifty-fifty, too!”
“That may be true, but I can't just take your word for it, can I? Here, all Fair Coins must be
certified Fair.”
Laurie was crestfallen.
“Don't look so sad! I do want to help you,” said Tinker. “Maybe we can do a trade. It so hap-
pens I'm in the market for a particular algorithm.”
“But I don't have any algorithms, either,” said Laurie.
“That's not a problem,” said Tinker. “You can compose new ones any time you want, with a
little bit of thinking.”
“I can? How?”
“Well, everyone develops their own style. You can put little ideas together to make big ideas.
Or you put two ideas side by side and compare them. Or you start with big ideas and take
them apart.”
“You mean like Eponymous does?”
“Yes, just like her. She's a great Composer.”
Laurie had never thought that she could do things like that herself. But Tinker seemed to
think it was normal.
“So what do I do?”
“The algorithm I'm looking for is how to draw a circle,” Tinker said. “It's a tough one, so
you'll have to use your imagination. I've asked all the adults and even Ponens and Tollens
already, but all they do is mutter about x squared plus y squared and never get anywhere.”
“Take a look at this.” He handed Laurie a wind-up toy animal. It had a Shell, and was Round
and Green. “This turtle can do three things: it can move forward or backward, it can turn, and
it can draw a little dot on the paper.”
“Hey, that's pretty neat!”
“Yes, but the thing is, it doesn't know how to do anything else. That's where the algorithm
comes in.” Tinker took out a piece of paper and wrote what looked like a little poem: