tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post3224374144082776146..comments2024-03-27T19:58:17.387-05:00Comments on Computational Complexity: Guest post on ITCS by ChazelleLance Fortnowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06752030912874378610noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-23341417933921321012012-01-29T15:58:09.217-06:002012-01-29T15:58:09.217-06:00Bernard Chazelle asserts: Theoretical computer sc...<i><b>Bernard Chazelle</b> asserts:</i> Theoretical computer science can do for [system sciences] what mathematics did for physics. <br /><br />---<br /><br />If we embrace a system perspective, then perhaps Chazelle's desired evolution can be accelerated by a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Modest_Proposal" rel="nofollow">modest proposal</a> that is cost-free and administratively simple: <i>declare a five-year moratorium on the word "oracle" appearing in STOCS / FOCS / ICTS / SODA submissions</i>.<br /><br />Given the considerable practical difficulties that engineers encounter with respect to the purchase, rental, or coding of higher-class oracles, it seems implausible that such a moratorium could result in enduring harm to the global CSE enterprise.<br /><br />Conversely, if beneficial effects were evident after five years, then the oracle moratorium readily could be extended, and perhaps other computational topics might be considered for similar moratoriums.John Sidleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16286860374431298556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-85672411188422963372012-01-28T19:18:19.748-06:002012-01-28T19:18:19.748-06:00Right, because a conference (SODA) which is in its...Right, because a conference (SODA) which is in its 23rd edition and has been held in exactly three countries is such a good counterexample to Chazelle's point.<br /><br />It also says something that one of the most "international" theory conferences (SOCG) is held 2/3rds of the time in NorthAmerica and about 1/3rd of the time in Europe and twice in Asia.<br /><br />For a real international conference check VLDB, the last 23 editions of which were held in 21 different countries.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-12678613086248187912012-01-28T13:33:05.111-06:002012-01-28T13:33:05.111-06:00Colocating SODA and ITCS could actually work. SODA...Colocating SODA and ITCS could actually work. SODA draws a diverse audience, and the intention is for ITCS to be the same, so they could provide the 'conceptual-algorithmic pairing' nicely.Suresh Venkatasubramanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15898357513326041822noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-30046273001725080952012-01-28T04:37:43.467-06:002012-01-28T04:37:43.467-06:00All theory conferences today are regional (North A...<i>All theory conferences today are regional (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc).</i><br /><br />Conclusion: Bernard does not think SOCG is a theory conference. (2009 in Aarhus; 2010 in Snowbird; 2011 in Paris; 2012 in Chapel Hill; 2013 in Rio; ...)<br /><br />And where was SODA last week?JeffEhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17633745186684887140noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-34558746241226136162012-01-27T21:21:59.123-06:002012-01-27T21:21:59.123-06:00On a lighter note, the Nir-and-Omer Playback show ...On a lighter note, the Nir-and-Omer Playback show really was great, a big highlight of the conference. <br />And it wasn't just cheap laughs about the foibles of academic existence; they used audience stories as improv material, but took a wonderfully surreal approach that challenged us to break out of the headspace of the conference and look at the world in a bigger way. Anyway, you should've been there.Andy Dhttp://andysresearch.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-29879978892875525142012-01-27T16:55:21.382-06:002012-01-27T16:55:21.382-06:00I'm curious - what's the "Umesh optio...I'm curious - what's the "Umesh option"?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-85051430152817377082012-01-27T15:14:50.815-06:002012-01-27T15:14:50.815-06:00Why don't we just co-locate SODA and ITCS. Th...Why don't we just co-locate SODA and ITCS. They can still serve there same purposes, have separate review processes, but make it much easier for people's travel. And will make both conferences more robust by helping ensure critical masses.Jeff Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02817986846758586086noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-21254065996382474632012-01-27T13:36:34.634-06:002012-01-27T13:36:34.634-06:00Bernard,
I agree with you about many of the posit...Bernard,<br /><br />I agree with you about many of the positive things you describe about ITCS (and thank you for posting about them). Where we diverge, I think, is the issue of "yet another conference". You've definitely acknowledged these issues in your post -- I like very much your whole paragraph "ITCS provides a venue...", which mentions clearly the yet-another-conference issue. I'm definitely not getting the Internet-as-savior motif of the next paragraph, however. I don't think you can have a long-term sustainable conference if people don't come. Yes, the papers will be put on the web (and perhaps videos too), but lack of physical presence diminishes the many other positives of the conference you describe so eloquently throughout the essay (including things like having graduating students present themselves and their work). The ITCS stamp may be useful in getting a paper noticed, but I can put things on arxiv myself, so the main reason to publish it in a conference is to talk about it to a larger audience -- if we can't successfully manage our conference structure, is there a point to having conferences at all?<br /><br />ITCS has offered some interesting innovations, that should be incorporated into conferences more broadly. It doesn't change what I see as the fact that theory's conference structure is not helping the field. In my last blog post I talk about the need for some high-level coordination and structure for theory conferences. One can always make the case that yet-another-conference must be a positive (more papers published, another choice of venue to go to, etc.). I don't think that argument is right -- I think the field is becoming fragmented, and less coherent for it. (The ITCS/SODA dates being just one example, as Suresh mentions above.)Michael Mitzenmacherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02161161032642563814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3722233.post-24492781018454674412012-01-27T13:07:31.160-06:002012-01-27T13:07:31.160-06:00Hi Bernard,
Since you mention Michael's pos...Hi Bernard, <br /> Since you mention Michael's posts, I was wondering what you thought about the clash in schedule between ITCS and SODA. Do you see this as a problem or a non-issue ? My personal feeling is that the theory community isn't so big that we can afford paper splitting of this nature.Suresh Venkatasubramanianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15898357513326041822noreply@blogger.com