Nov
27th
Tue
27th
When has a problem been solved?
I have stated before that researchers should focus on new problems or on providing solutions that are at least an order of magnitude better than previous solutions. There is a catch to this statement: it says that if you are within an order of magnitude of the ultimate answer, then you should stop, unless, maybe, you can prove that you have achieved the ultimate solution. Proving you have the best possible solution whereas others were providing approximation does constitute a significant gain,…