The golden ticket P, NP, and the search for the impossible

• Main Author: Fortnow, Lance
• Format: eBook Book
• Language: English
• Published: Princeton, N.J Princeton University Press 2013
• Edition: 1
• Subjects: 1KBB; A Brief History of Time; Adviser; Age of the universe; Alan Turing; Algorithm; Algorithms; American; Approximation; Berkeley; Byte; Calculation; Campaign manager; Clay Mathematics Institute; Clique problem; Computation; Computational complexity theory; Computational problem; Computer; Computer algorithms; Computer program; Computer science; Computer scientist; COMPUTERS; COMPUTERS / Programming / Algorithms; COMPUTERS / Programming / Algorithms. bisacsh; Computing; Cryptanalysis; Cryptography; David Eppstein; DCF; Diagram; Email; Entscheidungsproblem; Frenemy; Gil Kalai; Grigori Perelman; Heuristic; History & Philosophy; Jack Edmonds; Juris Hartmanis; Lance Fortnow; Leonid Levin; Machine learning; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Mathematician; MATHEMATICS; MATHEMATICS / History & Philosophy; MATHEMATICS / History & Philosophy. bisacsh; MATHEMATICS / Linear Programming. bisacsh; MATHEMATICS / Mathematical Analysis; MATHEMATICS / Mathematical Analysis. bisacsh; MATHEMATICS / Optimization; MATHEMATICS / Linear & Nonlinear Programming; Michael Sipser; Millennium Prize Problems; Moore's law; NP-complete problems; NP-completeness; Occam's razor; Open problem; P versus NP problem; Paperback; Parallel computing; Physicist; Poetry; Prediction; Princeton University Press; Printing; Proceedings; Programming; Public-key cryptography; Quantum computing; Quantum cryptography; Quantum mechanics; Qubit; Random House; Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science; Scientist; Smart card; Stanley Milgram; Stephen Hawking; Technology; Theoretical computer science; Time complexity; Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago; Transistor; Travelling salesman problem; Treatise; University of California; Website; Email; Gil Kalai; Smart card; Berkeley; University of California; Treatise; Proceedings; Quantum computing; Computer program; Jack Edmonds; Technology; Computer; Stephen Hawking; Calculation; Entscheidungsproblem; Open problem; Juris Hartmanis; Cryptography; Clay Mathematics Institute; David Eppstein; Adviser; Frenemy; Approximation; Clique problem; Prediction; Scientist; Campaign manager; Algorithm; Leonid Levin; Computer science; Computation; Byte; Alan Turing; Cryptanalysis; Grigori Perelman; Quantum cryptography; Time complexity; Heuristic; Age of the universe; Stanley Milgram; Travelling salesman problem; Website; Random House; Public-key cryptography; Computing; Computational problem; Theoretical computer science; Moore's law; Computer scientist; Computational complexity theory; Michael Sipser; Physicist; A Brief History of Time; Printing; Occam's razor; Millennium Prize Problems; Qubit; Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science; P versus NP problem; Lance Fortnow; Transistor; Mathematician; Toyota Technological Institute at Chicago; Paperback; Diagram; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Parallel computing; Princeton University Press; Quantum mechanics; NP-completeness; Machine learning
• ISBN: 0691175780; 9780691175782; 9780691156491; 0691156492; 9781400846610; 1400846617
• DOI: 10.1515/9781400846610

The P-NP problem is the most important open problem in computer science, if not all of mathematics.The Golden Ticketprovides a nontechnical introduction to P-NP, its rich history, and its algorithmic implications for everything we do with computers and beyond. In this informative and entertaining book, Lance Fortnow traces how the problem arose during the Cold War on both sides of the Iron Curtain, and gives examples of the problem from a variety of disciplines, including economics, physics, and biology. He explores problems that capture the full difficulty of the P-NP dilemma, from discovering the shortest route through all the rides at Disney World to finding large groups of friends on Facebook. But difficulty also has its advantages. Hard problems allow us to safely conduct electronic commerce and maintain privacy in our online lives. The Golden Ticketexplores what we truly can and cannot achieve computationally, describing the benefits and unexpected challenges of the P-NP problem.