Why Computer Scientists Consult Oracles (quantamagazine.org)
- Reference: 0175840495
- News link: https://science.slashdot.org/story/25/01/06/1819206/why-computer-scientists-consult-oracles
- Source link: https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-computer-scientists-consult-oracles-20250103/
Oracles have proved particularly valuable in studying quantum computing, leading to breakthroughs like Peter Shor's 1994 quantum algorithm for factoring large numbers. The technique has also helped researchers rule out certain approaches to solving the longstanding P versus NP problem, a central question in computer science.
[1] https://www.quantamagazine.org/why-computer-scientists-consult-oracles-20250103/
N vs NP (Score:3)
To pee or not to pee - that is the question.
..sounds like a Magic 8-Ball (Score:3)
....and open up the article and find out the article is about the Magic 8-Ball
Computer Mystics (Score:3)
If they start using oracles then they are no longer scientists. They may use more advanced computational tools, such as quantum computers, that run advanced but known and understood algorithms to solve problems but if they start relying on magical oracle devices that just provide answers withouth any understanding of how they work or even whether the answers are actually correct then they have become computer mystics, not computer scientists.
Re: (Score:2)
> If they start using oracles then they are no longer scientists. They may use more advanced computational tools, such as quantum computers, that run advanced but known and understood algorithms to solve problems but if they start relying on magical oracle devices that just provide answers withouth any understanding of how they work or even whether the answers are actually correct then they have become computer mystics, not computer scientists.
Sam Altman approves!
Cool (Score:1)
Not exactly news though, I read about oracles as a sort of hypothetical mathematical device in decades old literature.
Still neat I guess.
You mean the USENET oracle? (Score:3)
Anyone who has been in CS for a long time probably has consulted the USENET Oracle, which is by far the finest implementation of AGI/ASI we have ever seen as a human race.
Not hypothetical, fictional (Score:3)
"Like Magic 8 Balls, oracles are devices that immediately answer yes-or-no questions without revealing anything about their inner workings. Unlike Magic 8 Balls, they always say either yes or no, and they’re always correct — an advantage of being fictional."
Scientists are not using the oracles, they are using the concept of the oracle's classification to understand things like complexity. And like other posters have said, this has been around for a very long time.
What? (Score:2)
What in the hell are they talking about? Is an oracle a software that can solve only certain mathmatical problems or is it completely a thing of fiction?
-m
Next... (Score:3)
Why do physicists use massless rope and frictionless surfaces?
Re: (Score:2)
> Why do physicists use massless rope and frictionless surfaces?
You would understand if you were a spherical cow in a vacuum.
Re: (Score:2)
> Why do physicists use massless rope and frictionless surfaces?
Ok, ok. The real answer is because first order principles are being taught so secondary effects are considered unimportant and not taught yet. It’s like using a Taylor series expansion and only keeping the first couple terms, it’s often handy for close approximation. Also, pretty much all physical systems are taught using systems of linear differential equations which are quite beautiful and elegant and are incredibly accurate however friction is really a piece wise function with a larger va
Oracle (Score:2)
Is Larry Ellison still alive?
Re: (Score:3)
> Is Larry Ellison still alive?
Ask his new wife
Re: (Score:1)
Which one?
Re: (Score:2)
Have you asked Netcraft to confirm it?