This Problem Could Break Cryptography

What if, no matter how strong your password was, a hacker could crack it just as easily as you can type it? In fact, what if all sorts of puzzles we thought were hard turned out to be easy? Mathematicians call this problem P vs. NP, it is perhaps the single most important question in computer science today.

Hosted by: Hank Green

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[unicornswag]

_I don't need any fancy decryption techniques._
_I have_ *_Brute Force._*

[TheBackyardChemist]

"the thing computer scientists care obsessively about is SPEED"
Ah yes, good old amphetamines! Nothing like spending 18 hours coding while erm, *medicated*.

[et_aliae]

*clicks on video*
me: 'what is this gonna be the p=np video'
hank: 'this is about the p vs np'
wow that itsec degree really doing wonders

[fendoroid]

Computer scientists after discovering that P = NP:

_I am speed_

[PaulaJBean]

I feel like I've been clickbaited. I thought the RSA algorithm was cracked!

[LovSven]

As a person with a degree in computer science and a teacher, I must say this is very good layman explanation of P vs. NP and the examples are very life-like.

[huverdoose]

Having dish soap on the list twice will surely screw up the algorithm.

[JustCallMeAnonymous]

I really liked how you explained this is such a simple way. I'm not a person who is very knowledgeable about algorithms but I was able to follow along with this and understand!

[militantpacifist]

2:08 No Patrick. That isn’t mayonnaise.

[vnceigz]

• 5:57 - Um, that's a loaded and specious statement. Even if P=NP, that only means there _should_ exist a _relatively_ (6:44) simple solution for any given problem, but it doesn't just automagically give it. Someone would still have to try to figure out an efficient solution which may never even happen.
• 6:18 - Quantum computers are a much more practical and likely threat to passwords than P=NP.

[coldergraves]

I feel like I've learned something but I can't tell you what it is.

[JNCressey]

2:17 "to some exponential power" ah yes, as opposed to non-exponential powers...

[Zonker]

I was almost certain this was about Quantum Computing. There's another area that threatens to decimate cryptograpgy. If they ever do manage to get Quantum Computers streamlined... well, you've heard "we're doomed" too many times lately anyway.

[smivan.]

Mildly misleading implications in the thumbnail, I thought for a moment that someone actually solved the P vs NP problem.

[Spikeygal]

Love the topic! Some more illustrative diagrams would have really helped grasp the math, though

[sleeplesshollow]

Hmmm win a million dollars from some science price vs selling the masterkey off to the highest bidder for upwards of billions of dollars...hm....

[abramrexjoaquin]

Hank 2020:
Discovering and finding out new things is the best part of science and also being alive, and if the result is in our favour that would be nice too.

[GVNUS]

Wouldn't one of those "Five attempts before you're locked out for an hour" have a big impact on this kind of brute force attack, no matter how fast the algorithm can turn out guesses?

[SnakebitSTI]

Tl;don’t watch: There is no threat to cryptography.

It’s just a video on the P=NP problem with a clickbait title and even more clickbait thumbnail. I expected better of SciShow, and thought they’d actually be reporting on some breakthrough. I regret that leaving this comment counts as engagement on the video.

[Rene-tufc]

shoutout to everyone who works with software and had a mini heart-attack