plcheck@daisy.waterloo.edu (Paul Check) (09/18/90)
Did anyone read the message in sci.math about the rumour of the P=NP problem? Can anybody elaborate?
mfb@super.ORG (Michael F. Bridgland) (09/21/90)
The rumor (from thefool@athena.mit.edu) was:
rumors are flying around MIT that P=NP is about to be solved.
the team of Gamburd/Rota seems to have solved an important precursor to the
problem.
Gamburd, who is an undergraduate, estimates that P=NP will be solved in a
month and that he will get the Fielding medal at the age of 21.
-- michael de la maza thefool@athena.mit.edu horse@ai.mit.edu
and one of the followups (from bs@linus.mitre.org) was:
Let me throw water on this rumor.
I just got off the telephone with Rota. He denies any and all knowledge
of the above and claims that he is not even working on the problem.
I hope that the MIT undergrad who posted this will refrain from making up
wild rumors in the future.
--
Bob Silverman
Mike Bridgland
mfb@super.org