Mozart, No; Would You Believe Gershwin?

This chapter discusses the characteristics of the algorithms, the future of the art of optimization, and approaches to the problems. Although many managers might wish it otherwise, the writing of efficient computer programs will always be an art, not a science. Clarke's Law states that if a distinguished elderly scientist says that something is possible, he is almost always right; if he says that something is impossible, he is almost always wrong. As demonstrated by Goedel's Proof, no automatic procedure can discover all of the true statements in a consistent axiomatic system such as the behavior of a programmable computer. This implies that the development of new algorithms will always be an adventure. Software engineers, however, have a fundamentally different situation: Once solved a given problem, one should never need to solve it again, as one can reuse the solution already developed. In the development projects, one is always venturing into unexplored territory and one knows how to identify pioneers. On the other hand, the thought of going into the office to face the same problems every day would greatly reduce interest in this field.