English

Principle of Conservation of Computational Complexity

Computational Complexity 2018-01-08 v3

Abstract

In this manuscript, we derive the principle of conservation of computational complexity. We measure computational complexity as the number of binary computations (decisions) required to solve a problem. Every problem then defines a unique solution space measurable in bits. For an exact result, decisions in the solution space can neither be predicted nor discarded, only transferred between input and algorithm. We demonstrate and explain this principle using the example of the propositional logic satisfiability problem (SATSAT). It inevitably follows that SAT∉PPNPSAT \not\in P \Rightarrow P\neq NP. We also provide an alternative explanation for the undecidability of the halting problem based on the principle.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.1712.01178,
  title  = {Principle of Conservation of Computational Complexity},
  author = {Gerald Friedland and Alfredo Metere},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:1712.01178},
  year   = {2018}
}

Comments

This version of the article improves on the previous versions by generalizing to a general principle. This way, the very technical reduction of the halting problem to SAT_syntax is unnecessary. The authors would like to thank their peers for feedback and arxiv.org for enabling it. Feedback is always encouraged