Mike McNally writes
So are you suggesting that the definition of "algorithm" has an "as long as it's not too hard" clause?
No. I said what I meant. An algorithm is a method of solving problems. Not everything in the universe is an algorithm or equivalent to an algorithm. Suppose we have a quantum computer that solves some NP (incomplete) problem in polynomial time with order one probability.. A numerical simulation of that computer very likely involves evaluating every possible solution of that NP problem as one of a great many steps, thus to describe that numerical simulation as an algorithm for solving the problem is meaningless or obfuscatory. The simulation is equivalent the mindless brute force algorithm for solving the problem, plus an enormous amount of garbage. The quantum computer is not equivalent to the mindless brute force algorithm for solving the problem. -- --------------------------------------------------------------------- We have the right to defend ourselves and our property, because of the kind of animals that we James A. Donald are. True law derives from this right, not from the arbitrary power of the omnipotent state. jamesd@netcom.com