P versus NP

In Our Time: The venerable Melvyn Bragg struggles to understand the P v NP problem despite good explanations from (now Prof.) Colva Roney-Dougal from St Andrews, Prof. Tim Gowers then at Cambridge, and Prof. Leslie Ann Goldberg of Oxford.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b06mtms8

Reading material and other links:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06mtms8

#math #maths #mathematics #pvnp #pure #computerscience #proof #polynomial #encryption #decryption #automation #bbc #audio

A nice summary from the always nice Quanta magazine:

“The Year In Computer Science” (https://www.quantamagazine.org/the-biggest-discoveries-in-computer-science-in-2023-20231220/).

Via HN: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38718306

#CS #ComputerScience #Retrospective #QuantumComputing #MachineLearning #PvNP #YearInReview #Year2023

Asking whether \( P \stackrel{?}{=} NP \) is like asking whether verifying an answer to a hard problem and solving it are equally difficult or, analogously, whether appreciating a concerto and composing it are equally difficult. Quite intuitive, this. But try proving it.

Come to think of it, it is also analogous to asking whether comprehending the intricacies of the #PvNP problem and proving it are equally difficult.