Discrect Math

Algorithmic Adventures

Juraj Hromkoviˇ c

Algorithmic Adventures

From Knowledge to Magic

Prof. Dr. Juraj Hromkoviˇ c ETH Zentrum Department of Computer Science Swiss Federal Institute of Technology 8092 Zürich Switzerland juraj.hromkovic@inf.ethz.ch

ISBN 978-3-540-85985-7 e-ISBN 978-3-540-85986-4 DOI 10.1007/978-3-540-85986-4 Springer Dordrecht Heidelberg London New York

Library of Congress Control Number: 2009926059 ACM Computing Classification (1998): K.3, A.1, K.2, F.2, G.2, G.3 c Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2009 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilm or in any other way, and storage in data banks. Duplication of this publication or parts thereof is permitted only under the provisions of the German Copyright Law of September 9, 1965, in its current version, and permission for use must always be obtained from Springer. Violations are liable to prosecution under the German Copyright Law. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Cover design: KünkelLopka GmbH, Heidelberg Printed on acid-free paper Springer is part of Springer Science+Business Media (www.springer.com)

For Urs Kirchgraber Burkhard Monien Adam Okr´hlica u P´ˇa and Peter Rossmanith et Georg Schnitger Erich Valkema Klaus and Peter Widmayer

and all those who are fascinated by science

Science is an innerly compact entity. Its division into different subject areas is conditioned not only by the essence of the matter but, first and foremost, by the limited capability of human beings in the process of getting insight. Max Planck

Preface

The public image of...