London, Aug 12 (ANI): Indian-origin computer scientist Vinay Deolalikar's claim of solving one of the world's toughest math problems has got math experts in a tizzy.
The problem, P vs. NP, is one of seven Millennium Prize Problems set out by the Clay Mathematics Institute and the one who finds the solution will receive prize money of a million dollars.
Scott Aaronson, a computer scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US, explained to BBC News why this problem was so significant.
"People sometimes use the analogy of a jigsaw - it can be hard to complete the jigsaw, but if someone has done it, it's pretty easy to check - you just look at it," the BBC quoted him as saying.
Aaronson added that although a computer can simply try out all the combinations and give you the answer, breaking a cryptographic code could take aeons.
The real question is: Whether creativity can be automated or not, and Deolalikar's proof says that it can't.
If right, this solution can have very important applications - right from cracking codes to airline scheduling.
However, Aaronson said that Deolalikar's proof might fail a 'sanity test.'
Which means, he should ensure that it only proves things we know are true, and not something that we know is false.
"Everyone agrees, said Aaronson, "if he can't answer this, the proof is toast." (ANI)
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