Travelling Salesman

d

- I'd like to first welcome everyone here tonight.

All of you joining us--

We can't hear you!

- Okay, I'm sorry.

Please excuse us for a moment.

We're clearly having some technical difficulties here.

Uh, we'll introduce this evening's keynote speaker

in just a second.

No cell phones.

I know.

The battery.

Yes.

Yes.

Understood.

Was that him?

What did he say?

40 minutes.

This doesn't feel right.

This is over two years.

Did he say why?

Traffic.

Perhaps we should discuss the addendum

before he arrives.

I wasn't 100% clear--

it was strongly suggested.

It wasn't 100% clear

if this was applicable.

It certainly wasn't at the start.

And, now that we're here...

It was strongly suggested.

And now that we're somehow here,

it would seem irresponsible to everyone involved

to not have the discussion.

Right, that's...

Exactly what I'm saying.

- Who's the author of the addendum?

- I imagine it was a compositor.

Right, so...

- Wasn't me. - Or me.

I'm sorry?

The addendum.

What about it?

- We think it should be discussed.

So? Discuss it.

Why was it included?

- I was asked to include applied suppositions.

- When? - Nine months ago.

Why am I being interrogated?

Come on.

It was always agreed on, from the start,

that everything in the final report

would be discussed and agreed upon by all of us,

unanimously.

That's right.

Well...

As--as I was saying-- - was it Von neu--

I'm sorry to interrupt.

Was it Von neumann who said that in mathematics

we don't understand things, we simply get used to them?

What does that mean?

- Well, uh... I suppose what it means

is that the implication stated within the addendum

seemed to be a slight stretch

for an algorithmic theoretician,

wouldn't you say, Jim?

- I can't believe the English

still haven't taught you proper manners.

- Guys, let's stay on the topic.

- I'm not entirely sure what that means, but, uh...

- Oh, I'm sure you wouldn't. - It's apparent,

however superficially, that you've exceeded your authority.

- Perhaps we should hang on for a minute--

this is not a democracy...

- Actually, authority's even the wrong word,

because that has implications,

and in this case, there are none.

You had none. - Or a lecture hall, son.

- There's no point in questioning--

I'm not a child.

- No, you most certainly are not.

You used the word "superficial" a moment ago,

and if that's where you'd like to leave it,

then the answer is quite simple.

Three words:

Knowledge is power.

Yes, it is.

- His brief career has undoubtedly touched,

influenced, and motivated all of us

in some capacity.

And these brief introductions

always, on some level, seem to fall short

of true justice.

But, nevertheless, here goes.

Our honored guest was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,

son of a banker and a homemaker,

a graduate of the university of Pennsylvania,

summa cum laude,

before receiving his phd in mathematics

from Princeton.

Based on his thesis work on riemann's hypothesis,

he was an invited fellow

at the institute for advanced study

as well as at mit,

where his work on complexity theory

earned him the Abel prize.

He is presently the rouse ball Professor of mathematics

in the department of pure mathematics

and mathematical statistics at Cambridge university

and a fellow at trinity college.

In 2008...

He was awarded the greatest honor in our profession

when he was presented with the fields medal

for his proof of the nonexistence

of one-way functions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

it is with great honor that I now present to you

Dr. Timothy horton.

Has he seen this?

Which part?

The addendum.

- No. What does it matter?

- The implications are fairly self-evident, right?

I mean, perhaps not through and through,

but let's be clear.

This endeavor would not have received

the level of funding and classification

if its implications were not self-evident.

- I agree they're self-evident,

but I still feel they need to be aired,

and I guess, mulled over.

I don't know, I feel uncomfortable

to just sit here with assumptions.

We all know this is far too big

to assume anything.

Why is it self-evident?

Pardon me?

Why is it self-evident?

Well, I mean...

You don't work your entire academic life

in the fields of theoretical computer science

and complexity theory without understanding the--

the massive implications of doing something like this.

Right.

Well, I guess, uh, I guess I feel

there are two things wrong with what you just said.

Um, first of all, we were told from--promised, actually,

that any of the applied mathematical results

of our findings would be our own

and they would not be classified.

They'd be government purpose rights,

but that's it, right?

He changed that somewhere along the way.

Second of all, to assume that any of us as mathematicians

can sufficiently gauge the real-world implications

of this project, it's--

It's hubris.

I mean, it's--it's--

it's just hubris.

Wow.

How do you ever get a date with such an academic mind?

- I'm not sure I understand what you're suggesting.

- I simply dazzle them with my card tricks.

I mean, come on, guys, this is...

I feel like this is the argument that evolutionary scientists

have over steak dinner and a glass of wine, right?

It's--one solves one problem,

and the other one looks back and says,

"well, what was before that?"

And then, "well, what was before that?

What was before that?" I mean...

How do we get our minds around something like that?

- Why don't you read my addendum?

- I did, and I find your assumptions

to be inadequate, among other things.

- I don't think anyone is saying here

that we can accurately forecast

the implications of our research

50 years from now,

if I can understand what you're trying to say.

Just like Oppenheimer and fermi

couldn't possibly predict the consequences

of the Los Alamos research.

- This also begs the question of responsibility as well.

- How could we possibly discuss that?

- At Los Alamos, they didn't--

this...Is not Los Alamos.

What did you say?

- How's your daughter doing? She talking yet?

- As much as I do appreciate the smalltalk, horton,

it feels awkwardly out of place

given your little Los Alamos project.

- Manhattan. - What's that?

- Freakin' brits. It was the Manhattan project.

Right.

- Yeah, yeah, this is all s.C.I. Classified.