Can someone explain this please?

[webjames]

I know this isn't anything to do with ubuntu, however i am confident that some cleaver persons frequent this forum.

http://xkcd.com/287/

I understand NP-complete, or the idea of it - i don't understand the joke on this web comic; Conclusion: perhaps i don't understand np-complete?

Many thanks!

[x33a]

i also don't get the meaning of the comic . but, please don't take xkcd too seriously, it's just a pun on many things around us and represent the views of the creator.

ps: sometimes xkcd is just too complex to understand, maybe you can go to digg to decode it, believe me diggers are obsessed with xkcd

[nateperson]

I barely managed to pass Discrete Structures... And hated every minute of it... SO I refuse to answer you question with anything more than this link...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knapsack_problem

[ssam]

also read http://blag.xkcd.com/2007/07/09/perl-appetizers/

the joke is just that its a 'hard' problem to workout. or more slightly precisely the time it takes to solve grows rapidly with the problem size. you may have to try all possible combinations before you find the solution.

in this case there can't be very many possible combinations because the smallest price only fits a few times into the target price.

also, by accident this example has a trivial solution.

[webjames]

Thanks guys - you've put my mond at rest. Have a splendid weekend!