A key difficulty in the study of earthquakes and fracture is that
these phenomenona are so hard to predict. I have been studying
the general nature of prediction of complex dynamical systems and
the relations to problems in computational complexity theory as
practiced by computer scientists. My talk focused on the power of
verification as opposed to construction, as embodied in the
concept of Interactive Proofs introduced by Goldwasser et al. and
Arthur-Merlin games introduced by Babai, and the implications for
the fundamental limitations to predictability of discrete
dynamical systems.
To begin viewing slides, click on the first slide below. (Or, view as pdf.)