Getting It Right By Betting On Wrong

Imagine driving from Denver, Colorado, to Death Valley National Park.

You get on I-70 and head west, climb the front range, cross the high peaks
of the Rockies, descend Colorado’s western slope into Grand Junction and
then make your way across the Utah dessert to Fishlake National Forest,
which, if it’s springtime, is likely on fire. Here you collide with I-15
and turn left to head south.

In the deepest dark of night, eleven hours into your drive and two short of
your destination, the long smear of the Milky Way Galaxy fades behind the
neon lights of Las Vegas. Against your better judgement you stop and wander
into a casino. They immediately recognize you as a programmer and force you
to choose one of two sides in a permanent bet.

The bet is whether the code you wrote in the last month is ‘right’ or
‘wrong’. The casino defines ‘right’ as ‘Will not change for any reason
within the next 6 months’. You’ll win if you bet on ‘right’ and your code
doesn’t change, or if you bet on ‘wrong’ and it does.