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cover of episode In Computers, Memory Is More Useful Than Time

In Computers, Memory Is More Useful Than Time

2025/6/3
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Quanta Science Podcast

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Ben Brubaker
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Ben Brubaker: 我用整理衣物的例子来类比计算机科学中空间和时间的权衡。如果我把所有衣服堆在房间角落,虽然节省了空间,但找衣服会花费大量时间。如果我把每件衣服都放进带标签的盒子里并按字母顺序排列,虽然可以快速找到衣服,但会占用大量空间。这个例子说明了在解决问题时,需要在空间和时间之间进行权衡。在计算机科学中,算法的选择也涉及到空间和时间的权衡,好的算法应该在两者之间找到平衡。空间可以重复利用,而时间不能。空间比时间更强大,因为空间可以重复利用,而时间不能。就像一个鞋盒,用完可以放别的东西,但是2023年过去了就永远过去了。少量空间可以解决所有需要大量时间的问题,这是一种全面的、普遍的关于空间和时间的声明。 Ben Brubaker: 我认为时间非常重要,因为仍然需要花费一些时间。但空间非常通用,可以比想象的更多地重复使用。我可以用一个简单的技巧来释放我梳妆台里的一些空间并使用更多的时间,我可以将完全相同的数学技巧用于规划我的通勤、整理我的书架,或者我可以做的任何其他任务。将示例转化为数学抽象的效用在于,它意味着可以在数学意义上计算某些东西,并说,好的,这应该适用于所有这些问题。

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Chapters
This chapter uses the analogy of organizing clothes to illustrate the trade-off between time and space (memory) in computer science. Finding a sweater in a pile is time-consuming but space-efficient, while an organized system with boxes is space-consuming but time-efficient. This highlights the core concept of the podcast.
  • Trade-off between time and space in computation
  • Organizing clothes analogy: pile vs. labeled boxes

Shownotes Transcript

One computer scientist’s “stunning” proof is the first progress in 50 years on one of the most famous questions in computer science.

This is the third episode of our new weekly series The Quanta Podcast, hosted by Quanta Magazine editor in chief Samir Patel. This week's guest is Ben Brubaker; he recently published "For Algorithms, a Little Memory Outweighs a Lot of Time.”

(If you've been a fan of Quanta Science Podcast, it will continue as 'audio edition episodes' in this same feed every other week.)

Historical Recording) © Jack Copeland and Jason Long