In computer science, there is the notion of the edit distance between two strings. 1  For example, the words dog and dot, which vary by only one letter, are closer than dog and cat, which differ by three letters. This idea is used in spell checkers and in coding theory, and is mathematically formalized in several different ways, such as: 1  Levenshtein distance. 2  Hamming distance. 3  Lee distance. 4  JaroâWinkler distance. 5  N-gram distance.
The Three Sisters. The traditional Native American planting of corn, beans and squash makes an ideal companion combination. Corn is planted first, and when it is tall enough to provide support, pole beans are planted next to each corn stalk. The beans provide nitrogen to the corn, and the corn provides a stalk for the beans to climb.
Beans fare very well beside corn, growing up the corn stalks to reach the light. While the corn provides support for the bean stalk, the bean plant fixes nitrogen in the soil, anchors the corn and provides a line of defense against foragers, such as raccoons. Pole beans also benefit from placement alongside radishes. Bush-growing beans do well next to beets.