Last night I figured out how to prove that P != NP. Well, okay, not exactly. I didn’t have a “Ureka!” moment where I suddenly understood what technique to use to show P != NP. What did occur to me was a general approach that, with a lot of time and effort, might conceivably lead to a proof. This was while I was lying in bed near to being asleep, which is when a lot of my ideas seem to come to me. My first thought was that I ought to get up out of bed and write down the idea, so I could explore it some more in the morning. Maybe do a Google search and see if anyone else had already published anything related. However, I was awfully tired at the time, and the bed was awfully comfy. Also, my late-night brainstorms have a history of looking nonsensical in the light of day. While I was debating the matter with myself, I fell asleep.

As you have no doubt already guessed, I do not remember what the idea was. Perhaps I’ll remember it at some point. More likely, I’ll think it up again one day in the future, but won’t realize that it’s the same brainstorm I had last night. My fear is that this cycle will keep repeating itself, and like the protagonist in the movie Memento I’ll be doomed to rediscover the idea over and over without ever being able to remember it. From now on I’m keeping a pad and pen on the nightstand, and writing everything down no matter how silly or insignificant it might seem.