Computational Intractability
A Guide to Algorithmic Lower Bounds
$333.16
- Hardcover
600 pages
- Release Date
10 November 2026
Summary
A practical guide to understanding the theory and practice of computational lower bounds.
A fundamental question in computer science is: “Given a problem, how hard is it to solve?” Usually, the answer to this question lies in determining how long it will take to solve a problem as a function of the length of the input. Yet this question has two different parts, with two different answers: (1) upper bounds, which show that a problem can be solved in time \(T(n)\), and (2) lower bounds,…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780262550772 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0262550776 |
| Author: | Erik D. Demaine, William Gasarch Gasarch |
| Publisher: | MIT Press Ltd |
| Imprint: | MIT Press |
| Format: | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages: | 600 |
| Release Date: | 10 November 2026 |
| Weight: | 567g |
| Dimensions: | 178mm x 229mm |
Critics Review
ENDORSEMENTS
“A sweeping and rigorous journey through complexity beyond the P ∨ NP problem, ideal for those seeking a deeper understanding of why problems are hard.”
—Lance Fortnow, Professor, Illinois Tech; author of The Golden Ticket: P, NP, and the Search for the Impossible
“What Garey and Johnson’s classic Computers and Intractability was for the 1970s, this magisterial guide to completeness and intractability will be for a new generation of computer scientists and beyond. The book covers an astonishing range of material, from fixed-parameter tractability to PSPACE to undecidability to approximability to streaming to even quantum computing, always with a delightful emphasis on concrete problems and reductions.”
—Scott Aaronson, Schlumberger Centennial Chair of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin; author of Quantum Computing Since Democritus
Erik D. Demaine
Authors
Erik D. Demaine is Professor of Computer Science at MIT and a MacArthur Fellow. His previous books include Geometric Folding Algorithms and Games, Puzzles, and Computation.
William Gasarch is Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland, where his research focuses on complexity theory, combinatorics, and Ramsey Theory. His previous books include Problems with a Point and Mathematical Muffin Morsels.
MohammadTaghi Hajiaghayi is Jack and Rita G. Minker Professor of Computer Science at the University of Maryland. He is a Guggenheim Fellow, ACM Fellow, IEEE Fellow, AAAS Fellow, EATCS Fellow, and Blavatnik Honoree.
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