tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post7749318728361708502..comments2024-03-27T19:58:17.387-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: Alternate HistoriesLance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-9162206093841004802016-10-28T12:07:57.363-05:002016-10-28T12:07:57.363-05:00Taking a slightly different tack: if some sort of ...Taking a slightly different tack: if some sort of reasonable computers had existed in Gauss's day would he done a lot of his mathematics -- a large motivation in all of the work that he did in solving equations over the reals was motivated by his "day job" at the observatory. He had to do all of the computation by hand, so there was great motivation to make it as efficient as possible.Victorhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12861873904800186860noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-19283038531973910872016-10-21T04:54:20.292-05:002016-10-21T04:54:20.292-05:00As far as science is concerned I don't believe...As far as science is concerned I don't believe that the great minds are needed anymore. They only speed things up that would later have been developed by an industry of a great mass of brilliant but more mediocre reseachers. The best examples are Godel's and Turing's work which would have been done neccessarily by the next generation of logicians or theoretcal computer scientists. Regarding your own contributions it is fair to say that "the future doesn't need you." Anything important would also be created sooner or later by others, only some idiosyncratic work of minor importance could be left undone forever.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-83662909309413668052016-10-20T11:23:01.874-05:002016-10-20T11:23:01.874-05:00This kind of reasoning is called Counterfactual an...This kind of reasoning is called Counterfactual analysis, BTW.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-47846480993357897582016-10-20T07:32:58.669-05:002016-10-20T07:32:58.669-05:00I mixed my Cardinals and Archdukes. Fixed the post...I mixed my Cardinals and Archdukes. Fixed the post. Lance Fortnowhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-42953706773977942102016-10-20T07:29:16.524-05:002016-10-20T07:29:16.524-05:00I also like to think about this in the following f...I also like to think about this in the following form: Who are those scientists, who proved something that wouldn't have been proved for decades without them?<br /><br />ps. Who the hell is Cardinal Ferdinand? Do you mean the Habsburg heir? I doubt anything would have changed except for the casus belli.domhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05790539025733385232noreply@blogger.com