Claimed Proof That P != NP 457
Posted
by
kdawson
from the sufficiently-complex dept.
from the sufficiently-complex dept.
morsch writes "Researcher Vinay Deolalikar from HP Labs claims proof that P != NP. The 100-page paper has apparently not been peer-reviewed yet, so feel free to dig in and find some flaws. However, the attempt seems to be quite genuine, and Deolalikar has published papers in the same field in the past. So this may be the real thing. Given that $1M from the Millennium Prize is involved, it will certainly get enough scrutiny. Greg Baker broke the story on his blog, including the email Deolalikar sent around."
Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, NP has an N in front of the P. That's obviously not the same as P. Also, P != HP.
Well, Thank God... (Score:5, Funny)
I was a afraid he might have left out an important step.
Re:Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
I mean, NP has an N in front of the P. That's obviously not the same as P. Also, P != HP.
If you knew really advanced mathematics you'd know that NP means N times P. So NP does equal P when N=1. But not the rest of the time. Oh and it does when P=0. How much was that prize again?
Re:Well, Thank God... (Score:4, Funny)
it was shortened the original proof he was working on was 10Pt !=(or Not) 12Pt font. The journalist shortened it to P!=NP. The rest of the text is meaningless other than to illustrate the difference.
How dare you say "OH YEAH!!!!!" (Score:3, Funny)
XKCD was right (Score:5, Funny)
Re:I think this is going to take a while. (Score:2, Funny)
At a 100 pages its going to be a while before I can say I have RTFA, but I'll get back with any relevance in a few days after I have digested it. I suggest any post claiming other wise are a bit hasty.
Aren't the best theories supposed to be elegantly simple? This looks a mess.
Wait.. that's just how my head feels after reading the abstract.
Re:Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
I had an unshakable image of some web design "IT guy" who had one forgotten lecture on this subject back in trade school nodding sagely as he thinks he understands what everyone's talking about and reaching for the Insightful moderation.
I didn't have the benefit of the reassuring Score:5, Funny that you had.
it's a constructive proof!!! (Score:2, Funny)
Re:Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
Funny doesn't give karma, Insightful does.
At least that's what I tell myself so I can sleep at night.
Re:Well, duh (Score:3, Funny)
Professor Corey? Is that you, Irwin?
A real achievement... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Makes my job easier... (Score:3, Funny)
You forgot 'and I'm lazy'. Because NP is just hard, not impossible.
In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other news (Score:5, Funny)
It's funny how we don't hear anything from HP for ages, then as soon as there's a sex scandal involving the disgraced CEO [engadget.com], out come all sorts of distractions.
I smell a rat. Okay, I smell 2 rats - Mark Hurd (ex-CEO) and HPs' spin department.
I have found an excellent proof of this... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Funny can cost you karma (Score:5, Funny)
Now that, my friend, is +5, Funny. Nothing here has been fixed in years.
Re:In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other new (Score:5, Funny)
That's one hell of a spin department.
Some university really should hire them, because if they can prove P!=NP just to cover up a sex scandal, imagine what they could do if they didn't waste time writing press releases.
Re:Funny can cost you karma (Score:3, Funny)
Net result: post is +5 funny but you take major karma hits.
"We used to rate people -1 Overrated. Now we just rate them +1 Funny. It's more effective that way."
(Apologies to KMFDM...)
Re:What would the impacts of this be for cryptogra (Score:3, Funny)
If this proof holds up, then RSA and ECC become provably secure in a way they weren't before.
Note to self: Buy a 5$ wrench.
Re:Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
I thought that WAS Godwin's Law ?
Poland != Nazi (occupied) Poland.
Re:In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other new (Score:3, Funny)
World Health Organization?
I understand it completely. (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Not Only Time But Several Disciplines (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Not Only Time But Several Disciplines (Score:2, Funny)
P != NP
Re:Not in arXiv? (Score:1, Funny)
I dunno about you, but I've received mathematical proofs "published" by mass-emailing. Thousands of proofs that that the Heisenberg uncertainty principle was untenable, about seven or eight years ago.
Re:In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other new (Score:5, Funny)
That's one hell of a spin department.
Some university really should hire them, because if they can prove P!=NP just to cover up a sex scandal, imagine what they could do if they didn't waste time writing press releases.
Oh man, if you think the politics and backbiting are bad in typical academia, wait until you see an entire computer science department arguing over who gets to have illicit sex in order to set off the proof-generating team.
Re:I think this is going to take a while. (Score:2, Funny)
Bazinga.
Re:What would the impacts of this be for cryptogra (Score:3, Funny)
Keep dreaming.
Even at "Harbor Freight" (read: cheap-ass tools), a $5 wrench won't do much more than let you take the wheels off a model train and pick your nose.
Go for the $10 wrench. ;)
Re:In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other new (Score:3, Funny)
...because if they can prove P!=NP just to cover up a sex scandal, imagine what they could do if they didn't waste time writing press releases.
Hold the best orgy ever?
Re:Well, Thank God... (Score:2, Funny)
History will remember:
The pivotal P != NP conjecture was finally proved in 2010 by Vinay Deolalikar in a proof provided both in 10pt and 12pt font size.
Re:Well, duh (Score:5, Funny)
or it may have been modded by a mathematician who figured out that modding comments "funny" will likely result in negative karma.
Of course since the OP was an AC karma isn't a factor. But myself, I've just gotten into the habit of never using +1 funny, since it could result in negative karma for the poster. Also something thats funny, is made even more funny when it gets modded as insightful or informative.
Re:Well, duh (Score:4, Funny)
Yeh, I get moded as a troll all the time!
I don't. I often wonder why, because I actually am a troll. I turn to stone if I spend more time the sunlight longer than it takes to snatch a passing goat. I always stay late at the data center in order to avoid venturing out into the Big Blue Room. I show up late for the same reason.
My bosses have gotten used to this; they tolerate it because they're afraid of confronting me. My technical skills are too valuable to lose, and in any case I'm the only one who has all the passwords. Even if that weren't true, they subconsciously know that any confrontation with me would end with me sucking the marrow from their dead white bones (yum!), or at least filing a grievance with personnel over a violation of the company diversity policy.
Oh, by the way, it's "modded", not "moded", moron. Sorry about that outburst, I can't help it. It's a cultural thing (look it up in the employee handbook, dimwit).
Re:In other news, HP sex Scandal == Push other new (Score:4, Funny)