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Nature 435, 751-752 (9 June 2005) | doi:10.1038/435751a; Published online 8 June 2005
Computational science: Can get satisfaction
Carla P. Gomes1 & Bart Selman1
Abstract
The sheer complexity of some computational problems means they will probably never be solved, despite the ever-increasing resources available. But we can sometimes predict under what conditions solutions exist.
Computer scientists have been quite successful at developing fast algorithms: Google, for example, searches its index of more than eight billion web pages in a fraction of a second. The indexed-search problem is said to be 'tractable', or efficiently solvable; it is even possible to guarantee that, no matter what keywords you search on, you will get an answer quickly.
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