> purely to compare one algorithm to another, not actually measure literal, real... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

mypalmike on Aug 30, 2016 | parent | context | favorite | on: The Myth of RAM (2014)

> purely to compare one algorithm to another, not actually measure literal, real world performance.

Estimating real world performance is the whole point of Big-O notation. Trying to solve the traveling salesman problem on all the stars in the Milky Way is something your PC isn't going to do in your lifetime, for instance.

GFK_of_xmaspast on Aug 30, 2016 [–]

If you ignore the nonEuclidean effects of general relativity, there are very good polynomial time approximation algorithms.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact