[FOM] P NP buzz

[joeshipman@aol.com]

Much more important than how detailed the proof is, is how closely the 
author is willing to collaborate with referees (since we are talking 
here about pre-publication verification of a claim rather than having 
only a finished manuscript to work with).




-----Original Message-----
From: Timothy Y. Chow

On the other side of the coin, the so-called "stars and superstars" 
whose wasted time you bemoan were under no obligation to drop what they 
were doing and study Deolalikar's manuscript.  They did so because they 
chose to.  If you think they made the wrong choice, then I think the 
primary target of your criticism should be the stars and superstars 
themselves who made that choice.  Some secondary criticism can be 
directed at the people who overhyped the proof, but hyping something is 
not the same as coercing people to pay attention to it.