The challenger-Solver Game: variations on the Theme of P=NP

Originally in Bulletin of the European Association for Theoretical Computer Science October 1989, 112-121. Reprinted in 1993 World Scientific book Current Trends in Theoretical Computer Science. pages 245-253 The question P=?NP is the focal point of much research in theoretical computer science. But is it the right question? We find it biased toward the positive answer. It is conceivable that the negative answer is established without providing much evidence for the difficulty of NP problems in practical terms. We argue in favor of an alternative to P=?NP based on the average-case complexity.

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