Theorist unimpressed by new approximation breakthroughs, echoing Hardy's 'aesthetic value' jab
lpachter · x · 2026-10-08
Computer scientist lpachter posted a thread dismissing two recent theoretical breakthroughs in approximation algorithms, arguing that even as theoretical milestones they offer little practical value — invoking Hardy's notion of work with "merely aesthetic value."
He draws a parallel to the 2015 conditional edit distance lower bound by Backurs and Indyk, recalling his own essay on the gap between worst-case asymptotic results and the sequence comparisons biologists actually care about. His broader critique: this kind of untethered CS theory keeps missing real-world relevance.
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