This world is an enigma, yet to be solved. And so are the
many unsolved problems in many different fields. Among them is the infamous
mathematics (and computer science) problem P vs. NP.
P vs. NP is a millennium prize problem. The first being
providing even the nearest correct solution would be awarded US$ 1,000,000.
What is P
vs. NP?
Well P vs. NP is the name of a problem that many
mathematicians, scientists and computer programmers want to answer. P and NP
are the two groups of the mathematics problems. P problems are generally
considered “easy” for a computer to solve, whereas NP problems are easy for a
computer to check.
Now, you have a NP problem and say the solution to your
problem is ‘I N F O’, a computer can figure out in a beat if the solution is
correct or not, but it may take like forever for a computer to come up with ‘I
N F O’ on its own.
The ‘P versus NP’ asks whether these two classes of problems
are actually identical; i.e. whether every NP problem is also a P problem. If
P=NP, every NP problem would contain a hidden shortcut which a computer can
find in a reasonable amount of time. But if not, then a computer’s ability to
solve problems remains fundamentally and potentially limited.
If P=NP…….
If the above stated would be true (which isn’t), it would
bring something like second industrial revolution. It would completely
revolutionize the world we live in.
There would be a short program which, given detailed
constraints on any engineering task, would quickly generate a design which
meets the given criteria, if one exists.
And there would be a short program which, given data on some
phenomena and modeling restrictions, would quickly generate a theory to explain
that data within the modeling constraints, if one exists. Many things that
scientists hope to explain, like about how the brain works, the nature of dark
matter and dark energy, the structure and function of proteins, etc. could
potentially be done in a wink!
But we live in the real world, not in the utopia described
above. And in here P is not equal to NP.
Not the
End!
So we can see P vs. NP as, for students it is easier to
understand a lecture than to come up with the matter for one from scratch on
their own.
Now as for me, I’m just another curious homo sapien on his
quest for knowledge, which for humans can never end. And we’ve
only just begun! Let us advance ahead and unwind the enigma behind this code.
