The most widely used technique for finding the largest or smallest values of a math function turns out to be a fundamentally difficult computational problem. Many aspects of modern applied research ...

Computational complexity theory examines the intrinsic difficulty of algorithmic problems by classifying them into hierarchies according to the resources—typically time and space—required for their ...

The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. For computer scientists, solving problems is a bit like mountaineering. First they must choose a problem to solve—akin to identifying a ...