Key insights

• 🔒 Contaminated rooms are connected by airlocks. Must pull emergency self-destruct switch in each room.
• 🚪 Unable to exit a contaminated room without pulling the switch. Cannot re-enter a room after pulling the switch.
• 🔍 The challenge is related to the Hamiltonian path problem, named after mathematician William Rowan Hamilton. Involves finding a route that visits every point in a given graph exactly once.
• ❓ There's no reliable formula or shortcut for finding a solution to the Hamiltonian path problem with specific start and end points, especially in grids with an even number of rooms on each side.
• ◼️ A checkerboard grid with an even number of squares on each side will have an even total number of squares, making it impossible to start and end a Hamiltonian path on opposite corners.
• ⚙️ When dealing with contaminated rooms and switches, there is a strategy to prevent an epidemic and multiple options for a successful route.
• ⚠️ Activating the switch in a contaminated room destroys it and prevents returning. The entrance room remains uncontaminated and allows for one return without pulling the switch.
• 🌍 Preventing an epidemic of apocalyptic proportions through strategic planning. Consider taking a break or new job offer after the stressful event.

Q&A

• What strategy can be used to prevent an epidemic involving contaminated rooms and switches?

  Activating the switch in a contaminated room destroys it and prevents returning. The entrance room remains uncontaminated and allows for one return without pulling the switch. There are four options for a successful outcome, offering a strategy to prevent an epidemic of apocalyptic proportions through strategic planning.

• Why is it impossible to start and end a Hamiltonian path on opposite corners of a checkerboard grid with an even number of squares on each side?

  A checkerboard grid with an even number of squares on each side alternates black and white on every path. The opposite corners of an even-sided grid are the same color, making it impossible to start and end a Hamiltonian path on opposite corners.

• Is there a reliable formula or shortcut for finding a solution to the Hamiltonian path problem with specific start and end points?

  There's no reliable formula or shortcut for finding a solution to the Hamiltonian path problem with specific start and end points, especially in grids with an even number of rooms on each side. Computers may also struggle to reliably find such solutions.

• What is the Hamiltonian path problem?

  The Hamiltonian path problem, named after mathematician William Rowan Hamilton, involves finding a route that visits every point in a given graph exactly once. It is a difficult problem, especially for large graphs.

• How can you destroy the virus in every contaminated room?

  Contaminated rooms are connected by airlocks, and you must pull the emergency self-destruct switch in each room. Once you enter a room, you can't exit without activating the switch, and you can't go back in once activated. This presents a challenge of finding a route to destroy the virus in every room.

• 00:08 A prehistoric virus is accidentally released in a lab during an earthquake, leading to a race to contain it and save the world.
• 00:54 🔒 You must destroy the virus in every contaminated room by pulling the emergency self-destruct switch, but once you enter a room, you can't exit without activating the switch, and you can't go back in once activated. How can you destroy the virus in every contaminated room?
• 01:38 The challenge is related to the Hamiltonian path problem, named after the mathematician William Rowan Hamilton. It involves finding a route that visits every point in a given graph exactly once, which is difficult for large graphs.
• 02:24 There's no reliable formula or shortcut for finding a solution to the Hamiltonian path problem with specific start and end points, especially in grids with an even number of rooms on each side.
• 03:10 A checkerboard grid with an even number of squares on each side will have an even total number of squares, making it impossible to start and end a Hamiltonian path on opposite corners.
• 04:00 When dealing with contaminated rooms and switches, there is a strategy to prevent an epidemic and multiple options for a successful route.