P : class of questions for which some algorithm can find an answer efficiently
NP : class of questions for which an anwer can be verified efficiently
Bchad…read that wiki article,solve the problem and share the prize with you fellow AFers.
N = NP wouldn’t be useful in that sense. It would mean that the current way of solving every exponential problem, most notably combinatorial problems, is essentially wrong, and they must be reduced first to their polynomial form, then solved. To simplify the principle, think about the following multiplication: 12 * 23.
You can do: 12 + 12+ … + 12 = 276. That is, you strictly do 22 addition operations only because you don’t know how to multiply, OR you do 12*3 + 12*2*10 = 276. Now imagine you have
230934890209230894802 x 424040230930230239, and you don’t know how to multiply two numbers, you only know how to add. Multiplying using a pencil would take you maybe 20 minutes but you would die before solving the problem doing additions only. N=NP would be like discovering the multiplication operator in my example. That is, the current way of solving combinatorial problems is dead wrong, and that all combinatorial problems as of today are solved in a very rudimentary way.
P = polynomial.
Haha, since there’s a $1M on the table (which would be beer change compared to what say airlines would pay for the solution), I’m long Gödel.
Was Goedel the one with the ontological proof of god (?) …a genius of logic who, towards the end of life became a bit crazy, thinking that everyone is out to poison him…the only person he trusted to make his food was his wife…and when she died, he died of hunger?
^ Correct. He was also friends with Einstein. People like Godel and Perelman really fascinate me. I never tire of reading about them.
Guy sitting next to me for 8 hours a day at work is a mathematician. I only wish I were 1/1000th as good as him ;’(
Guy sitting opposite to me is a programmer with a financial Math PhD. His 18 year old daughter just got accepted into Uni of Sydney’s advanced math degree.
Both of them are finance guys working in Securitisation
I didn’t know Australians could be so damn good at math ;(
the fact that you are working in such an environment means you are pretty smart too…nobody is sitting anywhere near me so …lol
And you are smart
So it doesn’t mean anything for me
I could be sitting there and making coffee for them or something haha
how did L1 go for you Mojo?
Next June!
Sorry…there will be no more next junes!
I shall wait until 21 Dec to decide whether I should study then!