[4112] in cryptography@c2.net mail archive
Re: quantum cryptanalysis
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (John Gilmore)
Mon Feb 1 18:02:47 1999
To: staym@accessdata.com
Cc: coderpunks@toad.com, cryptography@c2.net, gnu@toad.com
In-reply-to: <36B5E83C.6331@accessdata.com>
Date: Mon, 01 Feb 1999 11:55:31 -0800
From: John Gilmore <gnu@toad.com>
> Suppose someone discovers a way to solve NP-complete problems with a
> quantum computer; should he publish?
Certainly. It would instantly make her a famous mathematician. It
would probably be the catalyst for many others to make progress in
number theory. And it would inform the public that they had better
keep a close eye on the capabilities of quantum computers, the same
way they today watch VLSI and parallel computation capabilities to
determine when it's prudent to retire an algorithm.
John
