Peter Shor

M.I.T., Cambridge, MA

http://math.mit.edu/~shor

I'm a professor in the Mathematics Dept. at M.I.T. I mostly work on quantum computation, quantum information, and quantum complexity, but I am also interested in other areas of theoretical computer science and mathematics.

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Where were "should", "shall", and "must" in the 18th Century?

grammar british-english orthography history modal-verbs asked Aug 28, 2011 at 14:22

english.stackexchange.com

101 votes

Can a mathematical definition be wrong?

soft-question math-philosophy definitions ho.history-overview big-list asked Jul 11, 2010 at 4:18

mathoverflow.net

45 votes

A = B (but not quite); 3-d arrays with multiple recurrences

combinatorial-identities co.combinatorics asked Nov 4, 2010 at 12:57

mathoverflow.net

38 votes

Interactive proofs for levels of the polynomial hierarchy

cc.complexity-theory interactive-proofs asked Oct 25, 2010 at 15:49

cstheory.stackexchange.com

32 votes

Why do or don't neutrinos have antiparticles?

quantum-field-theory fermions antimatter neutrinos majorana-fermions asked Dec 2, 2011 at 15:14

physics.stackexchange.com

32 votes

Singular values of matrix sums

linear-algebra asked Jul 11, 2010 at 22:20

mathoverflow.net

31 votes

Refereed games with uncorrelated semi-private coins

cc.complexity-theory gt.game-theory interactive-proofs asked Oct 22, 2010 at 13:07

cstheory.stackexchange.com

30 votes

What is the pun in Kipling's poem "The Three-Decker"?

poetry rudyard-kipling wordplay asked Feb 20, 2018 at 13:18

literature.stackexchange.com

29 votes

What would happen if somebody dropped a small black hole into the Earth?

general-relativity black-holes earth estimation asked Aug 26, 2018 at 14:17

physics.stackexchange.com

29 votes

Can you identify the sum of two permutations in polynomial time?

cc.complexity-theory ds.algorithms co.combinatorics np-hardness permutations asked Jun 16, 2013 at 15:04

cstheory.stackexchange.com

Top Answers

154

Was the reduction in Shor's algorithm originally discovered by Shor?

cstheory.stackexchange.com

144

Why are 'student' and 'suspend' not pronounced as written?

english.stackexchange.com

129

What to do when you notice that a value in your paper is wrong, once it is accepted but before it is published?

academia.stackexchange.com

113

Why is there no "autumntime" or "falltime"?

english.stackexchange.com

113

Can “whose” refer to an inanimate object?

english.stackexchange.com

111

What recent discoveries have amateur mathematicians made?

mathoverflow.net

102

"Whatever a Russian does, they end up making the Kalashnikov gun"? Are there any similar proverbs in English?

english.stackexchange.com

Why do people categorically dismiss some simple quantum models?

physics.stackexchange.com

In a family with two children, what are the chances, if one of the children is a girl, that both children are girls?

math.stackexchange.com

A word like ethereal that also means quickly vanishing

english.stackexchange.com

What word means "to make something obsolete"?

english.stackexchange.com

What is the proper plural form of 'apparatus'?

english.stackexchange.com

If you break a stick at two points chosen uniformly, the probability the three resulting sticks form a triangle is 1/4. Is there a nice proof of this?

mathoverflow.net

Where did the third syllable of the letter W in WD-40 go?

english.stackexchange.com

What is a word equivalent to 'oceanic' but specific to a lake?

english.stackexchange.com

What verb for taking advantage fits in "I don't want to ________ on the friendship"?

english.stackexchange.com

Should we consider $\mathsf{P} \neq \mathsf{NP}$ a law of nature?

cstheory.stackexchange.com

Is there a word that means “measure time”?

english.stackexchange.com

When did they shift from apostrophizing the past tense to using an "e"?

english.stackexchange.com

What kind of mathematical background is needed for complexity theory?

cstheory.stackexchange.com

Can I infer that Schrödinger's cat is dead without opening the box, if I wait a thousand years?

physics.stackexchange.com

Is there such a thing as a future infinitive in English?

english.stackexchange.com

What do you call a person who is regionally biased?

english.stackexchange.com

What is a term for an operator/function in which the order of parameters makes no difference?

english.stackexchange.com

Shor's factoring algorithm help

cstheory.stackexchange.com

What are the rules for splitting words at the end of a line?

english.stackexchange.com

What's the expression that means "to search every possible place?"

english.stackexchange.com

Why does "corn" mean "maize" in American English?

english.stackexchange.com

"Maximum" vs. "maximal"

english.stackexchange.com

Is there a difference between "you two" and "you both"?

english.stackexchange.com