I was asked on the best and worst case scenario for this function:  def is_palindromic(the_list):      result = True      the_stack=Stack()     for item in the_list:         the_stack.push(item)     for item in the_list:         item_stack=the_stack.pop()         if item != item_stack:             result = False     return result   This function determines if a list is the same as its reverse using a stack. I thought the time complexity was the same for every case but when I tested, it took longer to run if the list was indeed the same as its reverse. Can anyone explain why? I am a bit confused.
Most people with a degree in CS will certainly know what . It helps us to measure how well an algorithm scales.   But I'm curious, how do you calculate or approximate the complexity of your algorithms?
Can Iranian-Canadians enter on arrival to the US? In reading about the  protocol I noticed how much its proofs-of-work apparently depend on  of the SHA-256 hash function. And so  presumably do many other applications.  How do researchers go about proving uniformity of proposed hash functions? Is it just an empirical matter of running many inputs through the function and observing the distribution of outputs, or can one formally prove the property? Where could one (non-crypto-expert) learn about how such proofs are constructed and look one up e.g. for the case of SHA-256? Creating Workflow -> Error Reset post score to 0 on migration I suggest that when a post is migrated from one site to another, that the question vote score get reset to zero (or perhaps only a negative vote score is reset to zero). Often people will downvote a question when the only thing that's "wrong" with it is that it's posted on the incorrect site. After migration, those downvotes hang around as a negative score and may unfairly bias the treatment of the question. What is IEEE 802.3 Ethernet's communication type: Synchronous or Asynchronous? In the IEEE 802.3 frame structure there is a 7 byte preamble section for synchronization. If it is really for synchronization does that mean Ethernet is synchronous and not asynchronous?    Ethernet structure for reference: Any way to open windows from the windows bar using a shortcut? for example to open the first window on the left Ctrl+1, to open the second window on the left Ctrl+2.  Im using xfce4 at this moment, but if under xfce4 is not possible, is there any other desktop environment that permits this?  Since I have several windows open for the same application, I not searching for sortcuts related to the application but as I say below, to the window. How can I get a new browser session when opening a new tab or window on Firefox/Chrome? When opening new Internet Explorer window, a new browser session is issued. Therefore you can login with two different accounts on the same service (let's say ). The same does not apply when opening a new tab in the same window in Internet&nbsp;Explorer.  How can I get a new browser session when opening a new tab or window on Firefox?  How about Google Chrome? I've heard that ratios or inverses of random variables often are problematic, in not having expectations. Why is that? The title is the question. I am told that ratios and inverses of random variables often are problematic. What is meant is that expectation often do not exist. Is there a simple, general explication of that? Uploading both data and files in one form using Ajax? I generally know how to use a hyphen, but when should I use an en-dash (–) instead of an em-dash, or when should I use a hyphen (-) instead of an em-dash (—)? Summation equation for $2^{x-1}$ individual tick label style with pgfplots given the following code, I want to modify the tick labels in such a way, that for negative values of x, the labels are located above the x-axis. How can I realize this?  \documentclass{report} \usepackage{pgf} \usepackage{pgfplots} \pgfplotsset{compat=newest} \pgfplotsset{plot coordinates/math parser=false} \begin{document} \begin{tikzpicture} \begin{axis}[% axis x line=middle, axis y line=middle, width=10cm, height=10cm, scale only axis, xmin=-5, xmax=5, xtick={-4, -2, 0,  2,  4}, xticklabels={$-4\pi$, $-2\pi$, $0$, $2\pi$, $4\pi$}, extra x ticks={-4, -2}, ymin=-1.4, ymax=1.4, ytick={-1,  0,  1}] \end{axis} \end{tikzpicture}% \end{document} How to add/subtract months from given date in Excel Displaying row/column of point in raster using QGIS? Is it possible in QGIS to display column and row index of pixel in raster?   I mean something similar to value tool. Too much sugar in soup -- how to make it less cloying? I was making this recipe: , which was from the old Lincoln Del, one of my mom's favourite places. I mistakenly doubled the sugar, putting in 1/2 a cup instead of a 1/4 of a cup. Given the 2/3 of a cup ketchup, which was Heinz, the soup turned out way, way too sweet.   Is there any way I can rescue this? Is there any way to get the windows cmd shell to expand wildcard paths? Occasionally, the cmd shell's inability to expand wildcard paths can really be an inconvenience. I had to pass 100 files in a directory to a program, and couldn't type *.ext. Instead, I used mingw's 'ls' to dump the list to a file, then replaced newlines with spaces, copied and pasted into cmd. Quite a nightmare.  I suspect the answer will be no, but has anyone dealt with this or come up with any way to make this easier? Determining relationship (e.g. number of removes) with cousin? How do I figure out if someone is a first cousin, second cousin, cousin once-removed, etc? I would really love to play wizard/warlock multiclass with low charisma (just 13 for mutliclass). The handbook says that I can use Pact Magic slots to cast wizard spells, but doesn't specify which ability I use for spellcasting.     Pact Magic.   If you have both the Spellcasting class feature and the Pact Magic class feature from the warlock class, you can use the spell slots you gain from the Pact Magic feature to cast spells you know or have prepared from classes with the Spellcasting class feature, and [vice versa].   When I cast wizard spells using Pact Magic slots (or warlock spells using wizard's "Spellcasting" slots) do I use spellcasting ability of the slot, or do I get to choose? Negative pressure Is infinity a number? Is infinity a number? Why or why not?  Some commentary: I've found that this is an incredibly simple question to ask &#8212; where I grew up, it was a popular argument starter in elementary school &#8212; but a difficult one to answer in an intelligent manner. I'm hoping to see a combination of strong citations and solid reasoning in the answers.