Simple (Invited Talk)

Simplicity in algorithms has various aspects; interpretations and implications. One is the simplicity of the algorithmic solution itself: if an algorithm (or data structure) has a brief verbal description or can be written with few lines of pseudocode, this can lead to easier, more robust, and possibly more efficient implementations. Another aspect of simplicity relates to the proofs of correctness and efficiency of our algorithmic solutions. Here, we experience that algorithms and data structures with simpler proofs of statements about their properties can be easier to understand, easier to teach, and sometimes, easier to generalise. Simplification of proofs also receives attention in mathematics; here, too, simplification has benefits to clarity of exposition and possibility of generalisation. There are even examples of proof simplification leading to the design of new and more efficient algorithms. This talk will present examples illustrating these various aspects of simplicity. Examples where algorithmic simplification or proof simplification has led to improved performance of algorithms and data structures, in theory, in practice, or both. Finally, some of the most attractive questions in discrete mathematics and in theory of computing have a property in common: they are very simple to pose, but surprisingly, to our knowledge, not very simple to answer. The talk will include examples of such questions, which I leave as an open problem for the audience.