The author's objective function is incorrect, negating the core claim.

That reminded me a lot more of Chip's Challenge than of mowing a lawn. Just missing some blocks to push!

have to say i really enjoyed how this was presented.

no comment on the results or the premise of are people good at mowing or just good at playing "snake"

i would be very curious to see if this same result held up when you also factor things like turn effort or "prioritize the longest straight lines bc they look cool"

I'm sure I'm the odd ball, but ever since I was a kid, I liked the diagonal patterns much more than the square lines.. and I'm not just talking about lawns. I would vacuum my room on diagonals.. lol

When I mow lawns I teleport forward 6ft at a time and then a 6x6 square of grass vanishes beneath me.

In the nude.

Better is subjective here i think, what about laying some nice stripes or diamonds? How do you work in some aesthetics and still stay efficient?

it's Q*bert!

Mowing the lawn is never about mowing but people wanted to be busy, feel productive for a bit, some exercise, and helping to clear thoughts. For others it might be driving long roads, or doing chores inside the house, cycling, and such. Otherwise, it’s inefficient and useless, the lawn can be replaced with better flowers or even small garden, or simply pave it and save the time and efforts and electricity/water doing a repetitive thing like it, and also spare your neighbors the noise 7am Saturday morning, and if you look at the bigger picture, the process is a total waste, you waste water to grow crops only to waste electricity to mow it later, it provides no useful product or outcome either, no flowers, no food, not even cosmetics like fancy looking garden, plus the maintenance and/or initial installations.

It makes like 30 turns as the "best", but if the program ever used a mower, it would want to minimize turns.

Probably the same reason some food delivery people place my bag next to the door instead of in front of the outward opening door where it will tip over, unsure what that reason is but I’d like to know.