One of the most fundamental mathematical tools outside of everyday arithmetic has seen its first improvement in 24 years.
Although the new method of matrix multiplication, an essential tool for solving problems in physics, economics and most areas of science, is not practical for use on today's computers, it is a surprising theoretical leap that could one day have myriad applications. And it's creating quite a splash on the mathematical blogosphere.
"All this is extremely exciting, and is one of the best results proved in years in all of theory," wrote Richard Lipton, a computer scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, on his blog.
"I actually knew a month ago that this was coming - I had a hell of a time keeping the secret," wrote Scott Aaronson, another computer scientist and blogger, based at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
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