I have written up my ten favorite theorems for the decades
1985-1994,
1995-2004
and 1965-1974.
This year we tackle the remaining decade 1975-1984, the
second major decade in complexity and the decade leading up to when I
started graduate school in 1985.
The first decade set the groundwork for computational complexity and
the P versus NP problem. In the second decade
attempts to understand and solve the P versus NP
problem led to new and interesting questions that still challenge us
today. But we most remember the second decade for analyzing different
models of computation such as
alternation, parallel, probabilistic, circuits, interactive proofs and
the first hints of quantum computers.
Starting next month I will run down my favorite theorems of the decade
that showed that the tools of computational complexity can help us
understand efficient computation in whatever form it comes in.