"These people get my thanks for purchasing, sight unseen, the ''education'' which this thesis brings to a close: the citizens of Ontario, British Columbia, and Canada. I hope someday to compensate them.

... [Quoted from David Gutman, Prokofiev] instead of a classical concerto, I chose one of my own. While I might not be able to compete successfully in performance of a classical concerto, there was a chance that my own might impress the examiners by its novelty of technique; they simply would not be able to judge whether I was playing it well or not! On the other hand, even if I did not win, the defeat would be less mortifying since no one would know whether I had lost because the concerto was bad or because my performance was faulty...

The most common piece of advice selected was ''Try not to leave any holes'' (8 of 24 players). Players' own advice included ''Stay claim'', ''Leave a space by the wall for a tetris [i.e. a simultaneous clearing of four rows]'', ''Don't wait for that perfect piece'', and ''Pretend you are having sex'' (the latter was proffered by player 3, who, judging by his/her score, is adept at following this advice)...

6.3. Personal Conclusion
Even with knowledge of the results in this thesis, I can't get a TETRIS score higher than about 100000. However, 6 of the 24 people in the survey can obtain much higher scores, and the typical high score on TETRIS machines at UBC is roughly 900000. Therefore, I have no choice but to conclude that, at least for TETRIS,

We do not learn from inference and deducation and the application of mathematics, but by direct intercourse and sympathy. [Quoted from Henry David Thoreau, The Natural History Essays]"

--- Can You Win at Tetris? (Masters Thesis in Applied Mathematics, University of British Columbia)


He only cited 2 books in his autobiography, and those were for quotes. Applied Maths is so fun.

Tim the Great (who sent me this): this guy is more frivolous than you