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Ask HN: Which open mathematical problems block immediate technical progress?
Are there any problems in math which, if solved, would immediately impact technology? Doesn't matter which type of technology.
- osipov 9y agoProve P != NP
- justadudeama 9y agoOr more exciting, p = np
- gamechangr 9y agoI don't think it works that way. It's not math that's the problem, there are some brilliant mathematicians working as developers. I think it's more like spotting an opportunity and having the technical skills to execute. I mean, I guess if you count hacking HN ranking system = immediate impact Technology?
- marcus_chang 9y ago> I don't think it works that way. Sure it does. With new mathematical discoveries, there come direct and immediate consequences to the technologies built using previous assumptions - which will now either be validated or invalidated. If, for example, prime factorization is proven to be not computationally difficult, invalidating the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_RSA_assumption https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strong_RSA_assumption, and somebody publishes a practical method, then most of the world's cryptography systems utilizing RSA would be hacked immediately.
- cevi 9y agoFind better quantum error correcting codes, and quantum computers will show up that much faster.