"In algorithm classes, there are often many right answers"
I accept this, but I'm assuming the original algorithm that a creative student produces will pass tests/produce same output as the 'textbook' solution. My understanding of the original article is that a correct final answer was marked wrong.
"Same goes for most college math."
Absolutely. My favourite from 16+ maths (GCSE in UK) is the area of a trapezium. Most find the mean length of the two parallel sides and multiply that by the distance between the parallel sides (so make a rectangle of the same area). About 1 in 15 break the trapezium up into two triangles and add the areas.
The third option would be to chop off both "wings" and consider it as a square plus two triangles. That is often my instinct when I forget to do it with the mean length of the parallels.
