Applications to Other Fields

This chapter explores how spin glass concepts have found use in and, in some cases, further advanced areas such as computational complexity, combinatorial optimization, neural networks, protein conformational dynamics and folding, and computer science (through the introduction of new heuristic algorithms such as simulated annealing and neural-based computation, and through new approaches to analyzing hard combinatorial optimization problems). It also introduces some “short takes” on topics that space constraints prevent covering in detail, but should be at least mentioned: prebiotic evolution, Kauffman's NK model, and the maturation of the immune response. The chapter summarizes the heart of what most people mean when they refer to spin glasses as relevant to complexity. It focuses on the early, classic papers in each subject, giving the reader a flavor of each.