The contributed article “The
Topology of Dark Networks”
by Jennifer Xu and Hsin-
chun Chen (Oct. 2008) ig-
nored sensitive cultural is-
sues while addressing a subject that
might by itself offend some people
in Muslim societies, including those
in the Middle East. The software sys-
tem it described for fighting what
some might call “Islamic terrorism”
represents a highly charged political
subject. A more appropriate place to
publish would have been in a pub-
lication sponsored by, say, the U.S.
Department of Defense, Central Intel-
ligence Agency, or Federal Bureau of
Investigation. ACM, which claims to
be independent, with a clear mission
to advance computer science while
being open to members from around
the world and free of geographic, eth-
nic, religious, or political affiliations,
should stick to this mission and not
involve itself in the so-called War on
Terror.
Science is a universal language
that should be used to bridge gaps be-
tween cultures, promote understand-
ing and cooperation, and avoid wors-
ening damage caused by politicians
who push the world toward trouble.
ACM should not take on such a sen-
sitive subject that only increases ten-
sions and does not make the world a
better place.
This is my personal opinion. I
would not seek to impose it on or
cause offense to anyone.
othman el moulat, rabat, Morocco
understand illicit covert communication
and interaction networks. We agree that
computing research should not be used
for political purposes. We also hope that
our research supports the study and
understanding of deeply complex social
phenomena.
Jennifer Xu, Waltham, MA
hsinchun chen, Tucson, AZ
separating P from NP. Such an error
may be pardoned, even overlooked,
in the science columns of a general-
interest newspaper or magazine, but
not in Communications.
madhavan mukund, Chennai, india
Michael Cusumano’s Viewpoint column “Technology Strategy and Management” on “The Legacy of Bill Gates” (Jan. 2009) displayed a rather stunning values system by saying that “grow[ing] the PC software business… should be Gates’ most enduring legacy.” This is not a prediction of what will be Gates’s most enduring legacy, though on this issue I would differ as well. Rather, it is a normative statement of what should be his most enduring legacy. Does Cusumano really hope that the massive changes now under way in international public health will not endure? His conclusion should not have been so surprising after he referred to Gates’s philanthropy as “highly laudable” but only in the context of bemoaning what a distraction it had become from his business interests. I still found my jaw dropping at the word “should.”
max hailperin, St. Peter, Mn
Mukund is correct; this was a slip-up, though one that’s easily rectified.
In its earlier paragraphs, the story defined an NP problem as one for which no polynomial-time solution is known, then explained the distinction between NP and NP-complete, but in introducing the unresolved question of whether P and NP are truly distinct, I should have referred to NP problems generally, not NP-complete problems in particular. With this in mind, the paragraph in question would read correctly.
David Lindley, Alexandria, vA
Communications welcomes your opinion. to submit a letter to the editor, please limit your comments to 500 words or less and send to letters@cacm.acm.org.
Coming Next Month in
COMMUNICATIONS
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In his news story “The Limits of Computability” (Nov. 2008) David Lindley wrote: “Showing that a problem is NP-complete means proving that no known algorithm can solve it in polynomial time.”
In fact, saying that a problem is NP-complete means only that it is “as hard as” any other problem in NP. Lindley apparently confused the definition of NP-completeness with the problem of
Computing Needs Time
We apologize if our article appeared to be targeting particular groups. This was certainly not our intent. Our research tried to address the new Dark Network phenomenon using selected examples and available datasets. Our hope is to develop advanced, science-based, data-driven intelligence and security-informatics techniques that help analyze and
Debugging AJAX
Algorithmic System Biology
Plus the latest news on compressive sampling; computational advertising, and international education.
APriL 2009 | voL. 52 | no. 4 | communicAtionS of the Acm
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