in computer science, we talk about a mathematical construct called a machine. Different kinds of machines can solve different problems, and the turing machine is the most powerful. It can solve any problem that can be solved by a machine.
Turing machines operate one step at a time, with each step taking the same amount of time. The total number of steps it takes to solve a problem is the time, of that machine.
Some problems have a fixed number of inputs, like “list all the states”. These machines have a fixed time. We call this constant time.
Others can have a variable number of inputs, like add up an arbitrary list of numbers. The longer the list is, the longer this takes.
An interesting, and important question is, how fast does the time of a machine go up as we add more inputs?
There are to major groups: the machines were the time goes up in a polynomial way (called P) and the ones were it goes up faster (called NP for non-polynomial). This means, for some machines, you can describe the time with an equation like time=inputs^n where n is any number.
A conjecture is that actually, all problems (that can be solved ) have a machine that can do in P time, thus all NP problems are actually P problems if we find the right machine.
This is important because much of our secret codes and other inportant things that we use today rely on those NP problems, which are really hard to solve. But if it turns out that they are P problems after all, there can be easy solutions.
“I am, somehow, less interested in the weight and convolutions of Einstein’s brain than in the near certainty that people of equal talent have lived and died in cotton fields and sweatshops.” - Stephen Jay Gould
On the flip side, a close friend of mine pursued his dream right out of high school with the support of friends and family. He’s now 30 with no work experience, no education, and no money, still trying to make his dream work. I’m very worried for what his senior years are going to look like.
TBF, I have a 3-tier retirement plan (pension, 401k, SS) and I'm still worried for solvency in my senior years. I expect 2/3 of those to be unfunded and raided in the next 30 years.
Even with all that, as a millennial I'm expecting to die at work.
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