One speed at the cost of the other?

[sivakd]

With the introduction of top 20, are people giving up on fastest program to fastest solving? I am not saying that's happening, but just wondering if it's going to lead to it.

[rayfil]

I would presume that most solvers first design an algo to verify if they are on the right track about their understanding of the problem. This would apply also to the faster solvers, which they may have been doing all along even before the introduction of the top 20 list.

Once solved, some may return to the problem to try and improve their timing either by optimization or by developing another more efficient algo. It is obvious that solvers will not get into the top 20 list if their initial algo requires several days of computer time. When you see answers posted within minutes after a problem becomes live (as it happened recently), the algos must have been quite efficient to start with.