Why Complexity?

Why Is Boolean Complexity Theory Diicult?

Why Kolmogorov Complexity in Physical Equations?

Several researchers, including M. Gell-Mann, argue that the notion of Kolmogorov complexity, developed in the algorithmic information theory, is useful in physics (i.e., in the description of the physical world). Their arguments are rather convincing, but there seems to be a gap between traditional physical equations and Kolmogorov complexity: namely, it is not clear how the standard equations ...

Why Philosophers Should Care About Computational Complexity

One might think that, once we know something is computable, how efficiently it can be computed is a practical question with little further philosophical importance. In this essay, I offer a detailed case that one would be wrong. In particular, I argue that computational complexity theory—the field that studies the resources (such as time, space, and randomness) needed to solve computational pro...

Why cryptography should not rely on physical attack complexity

Ever since the first side channel attacks and fault attacks on cryptographic devices were introduced in the mid-nineties, new possibilities of physical attacks have been consistently explored. The risk that these attacks pose is reduced by reacting to known attacks and by developing and implementing countermeasures against them. For physical attacks whose theory is known but which have not been...

Instrumentational Complexity of Music Genres and Why Simplicity Sells

Listening habits are strongly influenced by two opposing aspects, the desire for variety and the demand for uniformity in music. In this work we quantify these two notions in terms of instrumentation and production technologies that are typically involved in crafting popular music. We assign an 'instrumentational complexity value' to each music style. Styles of low instrumentational complexity ...