[FRIAM] A question for tomorrow

[lrudolph at meganet.net]

> Russell writes:
>
> < However, conversely, there appear to interesting results that indicate
> P=NP for random oracle machines. There is some controversy over this,
> though, and personally, I've never been able to follow the proofs in the
> area :). >
>
> Minimally, why is LaTeX the preferred format and not, say, Mathematica?
> At least the latter makes it complete and computable.

Not everyone can afford Mathematica.  I can, but am not motivated enough
both to pay for it and to learn to use it well, given that very little of
the mathematics I want to do is very amenable to what it seems designed to
be best at.  Clark's mathematics department *couldn't* afford it while I
was there--Matlab was apparently enough cheaper, or perhaps more
appropriate to the research interests of the most likely user.  For the
occasional investigation of some example or other that comes up in my
work, free wxMaxima has mostly been adequate (but I could never persuade
any of the undergraduate math majors who were working with me and one of
our CS faculty on some geometric problems in motion planning that it was
something it was worth *their* trouble to learn in the hopes of 
furthering our research: I  have no evangelical talents to be applied to
those who have not already been touched by the appropriate version of the
Holy Spirit).