Saturday, November 20, 2010

[tfnzpfna] Hunt for Red October

Soviet spy satellites surveil American naval bases.  Americans, having stolen a Soviet submarine, hide it at the point on the coast farthest from any naval base (similar to Van Worley's McSparseness calculation of the farthest McDonalds).  The Soviets, knowing the Americans would do this, also calculate and surveil that point.  The Americans, knowing that the Soviets would do this, include this "farthest" point as place to avoid, and calculate a new point farthest from Soviet surveillance.  And so on.

If there is a tie for which point, let's say one is chosen randomly.

What is the last point to be excluded?  I don't think this has an answer: probably infinitesimally close to an original naval base.

What is the pattern by which points get added to the exclusion set?  I'm guessing vaguely like a Sierpinski diagram.

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