“The new algorithm is astonishingly simple and easy to implement”
The CVM algorithm counts distinct items in a stream with a fixed-size memory and coin flips. Fill the board, delete half at random, and make survival harder each round. The Hamlet example uses a 100-word board and lands at 3,904 against the true 3,967. The distinct elements problem sat open for more than 40 years, and the answer fits on a whiteboard.