# Guest Column: NP-complete problems and physical reality

@article{Aaronson2005GuestCN,
title={Guest Column: NP-complete problems and physical reality},
author={Scott Aaronson},
journal={SIGACT News},
year={2005},
volume={36},
pages={30-52}
}
Can NP-complete problems be solved efficiently in the physical universe? I survey proposals including soap bubbles, protein folding, quantum computing, quantum advice, quantum adiabatic algorithms, quantum-mechanical nonlinearities, hidden variables, relativistic time dilation, analog computing, Malament-Hogarth spacetimes, quantum gravity, closed timelike curves, and "anthropic computing." The section on soap bubbles even includes some "experimental" results. While I do not believe that any of…

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