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The P-NP problem is the most important open problem in computer science, if not all of mathematics. Simply stated, it asks whether every problem whose solution can be quickly checked by computer can also be quickly solved by computer. The Golden Ticket provides a nontechnical introduction to P-NP, its rich history, and its algorithmic implications for everything we do with computers and beyond. Lance Fortnow traces the history and development of P-NP, giving examples from a variety of disciplines, including economics, physics, and biology. He explores problems that capture the full difficulty of the P-NP dilemma, from discovering the shortest route through all the rides at Disney World to finding large groups of friends on Facebook. The Golden Ticket explores what we truly can and cannot achieve computationally, describing the benefits and unexpected challenges of this compelling problem.

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"As Fortnow describes. . . P versus NP is one of the great open problems in all of mathematics´ not only because it is extremely difficult to solve but because it has such obvious practical applications. It is the dream of total ease, of the confidence that there is an efficient way to calculate nearly everything, from cures to deadly diseases to the nature of the universe,´ even an algorithmic process to recognize greatness.´. . . To postulate that P NP, as Fortnow does, is to allow for a world of mystery, difficulty, and frustration--but also of discovery and inquiry, of pleasures pleasingly delayed."--Alexander Nazaryan, New Yorker

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Lance Fortnow is professor and chair of the School of Computer Science at Georgia Institute of Technology and the founder and coauthor of the Computational Complexity blog.

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