title: Why is accessing an element of a dictionary by key O(1) even though the hash function may not be O(1)?
body: <p>I see how you can access your collection by key. However, the hash function itself has a lot of operations behind the scenes, doesn't it?</p>
  
  <p>Assuming you have a nice hash function which is very efficient, it still may take many operations.</p>
  
  <p>Can this be explained?</p>