SOCK VALU METRICATION PROTOCOL

A Technical Paper on the Art of Sock Pairing

The Sock Valu Metrication Problem

You have 17 socks in your sock drawer, but only 12 of them match. What is the optimal way to pair them up?

The Algorithm

1. Count the non-matching socks (NMS) = 5 (17 - 12)
2. Divide NMS by 2 = 2.5 (round up to nearest whole number for pairing)
3. Create pairs of NMS = 3 pairs
4. Calculate total number of single socks (S) = 2 (NMS % 2)
5. Create pairs of matching socks = (17 - 2 - (NMS/2*2)) / 2 = 5
6. Total pairs of socks = 5 + 3 = 8

The Sock Valu Metrication Protocol guarantees a minimum of 8 pairs of socks, but may result in 3 single socks remaining.