Computer strength

This is a short post on computers and their problem solving skills.

 In the 1980s computers could even take 50-60 years to decode a secret or even factorize a large number etc. Now with advanced processors and algorithms, computers can do these solutions in a matter of minutes. An example of this is Shor's algorithm, which enables a computing system to factorize very large numbers with primes as factors. Like the Riemann hypothesis, another unsolved problem in math is this: suppose you have a number like 2491. In order to factorize it, it would take anyone a few hours. On the other hand, if someone asked me to VERIFY that it is 47 multiplied by 53, it would take me less than a minute to do and even lesser time if I had a calculator. Factorizing 2491 here would be classified as "in P", called polynomial time. The multiplication is called "in NP", called non-deterministic polynomial time. The issue is that if a problem can be checked in a time 'x', can it also be solved in a time 'x'? It may not seem like it, but not a single mathematician has found a problem that can be checked quicker than it can be solved. If someone would prove this axiom i.e that P=NP, it would signal a new era in math and computation. A prize of a million dollars would be given to anyone who would prove it.