When I was a kid, I often asked "why" or "what" questions. "Why is the sky blue", "what's in this box", "why can't I have another chocolate", etc. and the answer that would infuriate me the most was "not telling!", or even worse, "because!" Yeah, okay, but WHYYYyyeeeeeeeee-aaaayyyyyyyyy? *pout*
I wonder if mathematicians feel the same way when they're faced with things like NP-complete problems.
"Yes, there is a solution to this, but hell if I'm going to tell you what it is."
"Aww, meanie! Is this a solution?"
"No."
"How about this?"
"Nope."
"Okay... um, this one?"
"No."
"What abou-"
"Nor that."
"Then WHAAAAT IIIIIS IIIIIIIIT?!" *pout*
The best you can hope for is knowing when a problem falls into that category and steering well clear of it. Or be smart enough to discover P = NP, but I won't hold my breath.
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