When computer scientists hang out at cocktail parties, they're apt to chat, among other things, about the single most important unsolved problem in computer science: the question, Does P = NP?

"The P-NP problem is the most important open problem in computer science, if not all of mathematics. Simply stated, it asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly checked by computer can ...

Last week, HP Labs mathematician Vinay Deolalikar started circulating a startling paper that claims to have solved the preeminent open problem in computer science, known as P = NP. Er, more accurately ...

Source: Darren Edwards What if one of the biggest unsolved problems in mathematics is not just about numbers or computers, but about observers like you and me? This isn’t a proposed solution to P vs ...

Complexity theory remains one of the great unsolved mathematical puzzles. Kenneth Regan is trying to figure it out. Kenneth Regan paused at lunch in New York to glance at incoming texts from top ...

Twenty-one years ago this week, mathematicians released a list of the top seven unsolved problems in the field. Answering them would offer major new insights in fundamental mathematics and might even ...

Pose a question to a Magic 8 Ball, and it’ll answer yes, no or something annoyingly indecisive. We think of it as a kid’s toy, but theoretical computer scientists employ a similar tool. They often ...

Thousands of notoriously difficult problems in computer science are actually the same problem in disguise If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by ...

As a child of the 1990s, I couldn’t avoid the game-turned-best-seller Tetris. Launched in 1984 by Russian programmer Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris quickly became a blockbuster and has had hundreds of ...