Three computer scientists have disproved a long-standing conjecture about a fundamental problem involving imperfect information. The post Researchers Refute a Widespread Belief About Online Algorithms first appeared on Quanta Magazine
In life, we sometimes have to make decisions without all the information we want; that’s true in computer science, too. This is the realm of online algorithms — which, despite their name, don’t necessarily involve the internet. Instead, these are problem-solving strategies that respond to data as it arrives, without any knowledge of what might come next. That ability to cope with uncertainty makes…