THEORY FUNERAL ON HOLD

The real news

The story, straight

Imagine checking every possible setting of a row of switches. Each extra switch doubles the combinations.

That is exponential growth: a small addition creates a much bigger search.

A computing problem called 3SAT asks whether true-or-false choices can satisfy a collection of rules, each involving 3 choices. Checking a proposed solution is quick.

Finding it can be much harder.

The Exponential Time Hypothesis says no algorithm can solve every such puzzle with a particular slower-growing running time called subexponential time. OpenAI claims its system found such an algorithm.

The claim is not yet verified by third parties.

All-In discussed the announcement in its November 7 episode. OpenAI has released a manuscript and a Lean formalization, a proof written for computer checking.

Independent experts still need to examine what the result establishes.

Important correction: computer science has not proved that P differs from NP. That question asks whether every problem with quickly checkable answers also has quickly findable answers.

Refuting this hypothesis would not settle it.

Nor does a better growth rate automatically make today's software faster. Enormous overhead can swallow a theoretical advantage.

Lil'meme has already bought the coffin. Unfortunately, the death certificate is still being reviewed.

The useful upside: investigate promising methods without confusing an announcement with an independently established result.

Sources: https://openai.com/index/building-scientific-understanding-with-academic-communities/ and https://arxiv.org/abs/2611.00517

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