Why Computer Trees Grow Upside Down

a ∈ S Y N b ∈ S b ∈ S Y N Y N c ∈ S c ∈ S c ∈ S c ∈ S Y N Y N Y N Y N {a,b,c} {a,b} {a,c} {a} {b,c} {b} {c} ∅ FIGURE 1.2. A decision tree for selecting a subset of {a,b,c}. Remark. A picture like this is called a tree. (This is not a formal definition; that will follow later.) If you want to know why the tree is growing upside down, ask the computer scientists who introduced this convention. (The conventional wisdom is that they never went out of the room, and so they never saw a real tree).

A page from a computer science textbook shows a decision tree for selecting subsets of {a,b,c}, followed by a remark about why the tree grows upside down. The joke is that computer scientists supposedly never left the room and therefore never saw how a real tree grows. It is a nerdy reaction to computer science conventions, mathematical diagrams, and programmer humor. EN: A page from a computer science textbook shows a decision tree for selecting subsets of {a,b,c}, followed by a remark about why the tree grows upside down. The joke is that computer scientists supposedly never left the room and therefore never saw how a real tree grows. It is a nerdy reaction to computer science conventions, mathematical diagrams, and programmer humor.

• @dev_meme / 967 2020-01-16