Slashdot Mirror
The End of Encryption?
An anonymous reader writes "The encryption algorithms that make virtually all electronic commerce possible work only because certain mathematical problems are very, very hard to solve. But some mathematicians are trying to prove that there's really no difference between 'hard' and 'not hard' problems--known in the math biz as P and NP. In an article on TechnologyReview.com, Simson Garfinkel spells out the real-world consequences of this mathematical conundrum."
Is he related to Simon & Garfunkel?
Maybe it's mandatory that the guys writing these articles take an intro to computer science class before writing these pieces...
:-P
Although someone I'm sure will counter with me that maybe I should have RTFA.
Is this what slashdot has come to: P vs. NP arguments/explanations?
:|
If I was a subscriber I would be bitter with what is happening to this site, as it is I am just saddened.
just = (My)Opinion.toCents();
I have $25,000,0000 of money that we are not allowed to take out of Nigeria. I have an NP and i got your account number and bank name while you were checking your account online routed through Nigeria.
Iam pleased to inform you that using my NP i have access to your account, and iam transferring the $25,000,0000 to your account after withdrawing $16,781 from your account for transaction fees and security deposit.
God Bless.
"Doing what i can, with what i have." ~ Burt Gummer
Decidability means: there exists a program which decides this problem.
Consider program A: "ignore input, write YES" and program B: "ignore input, write NO". One of these programs decides whether your program halts. I don't have to tell you which one, and indeed it may be difficult to say which one, but the problem is *trivially* decidable.