Colloquium CIMI : Quantitative geometry and efficient classification procedures

Abstract: This talk will illustrate to non-experts the use of geometric methods to design efficient partitioning algorithms for discrete objects or, in some cases, to prove that such algorithms must fail to perform well. These connections show that combinatorial optimization problems are intimately related to classical questions in continuous geometry, and we will describe some recent progress on old questions that translates to the best known results on algorithmic problems of central interest. This talk will provide an introduction to geometric aspects of computational complexity via an examination of specific examples.

No specialized background will be required.