title: Find the maximum of an intransitive set, with minimum comparisons
body: <p>An intransitive set can have members A B and C where <code>A &gt; B &gt; C</code> but <code>C &gt; A</code>. Such a set might be photos ordered by a person's preference.</p>
  
  <p>I can relatively easily find algorithms for finding the maximum of a transitive set with minimal work, and even for sorting an intransitive set, but it's hard to see how to combine the two.</p>
  
  <p>Is there a known solution for this problem?</p>