| The Golden Ticket: P, Np, and the Search for the Impossible Contributor(s): Fortnow, Lance (Author) |
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ISBN: 0691175780 ISBN-13: 9780691175782 Publisher: Princeton University Press OUR PRICE: $17.06 Product Type: Paperback - Other Formats Published: February 2017 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Mathematics | History & Philosophy - Computers | History - Mathematics | Linear & Nonlinear Programming |
| Dewey: 511.352 |
| Physical Information: 0.6" H x 6.1" W x 9.1" (0.70 lbs) 192 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: The computer science problem whose solution could transform life as we know it The P-NP problem is the most important open problem in computer science, if not all of mathematics. Simply stated, it asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly checked by computer can also be quickly solved by computer. The Golden Ticket provides a nontechnical introduction to P-NP, its rich history, and its algorithmic implications for everything we do with computers and beyond. Lance Fortnow traces the history and development of P-NP, giving examples 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. The Golden Ticket explores what we truly can and cannot achieve computationally, describing the benefits and unexpected challenges of this compelling problem. |
Contributor Bio(s): Fortnow, Lance: - Lance Fortnow is professor and chair of the School of Computer Science at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He founded and coauthors the Computational Complexity blog. |