THE 2007 OBERWOLFACH MEETINGS ON COMPLEXITY THEORY
LACONIC and PERSONAL IMPRESSIONS OF ODED GOLDREICH


[Let me start with a very subjective statement.] 
Complexity theory is rich both in conceptual and in technical contents,
but at times one aspect overshadows the other. My impression is that, 
in the current meeting, the technical material was quite dominant.
This was not necessarily reflected in the topics addressed in the
various lectures and reports, but rather in the focus of many
(but not all!) exposition and in the questions raised during the
various discussions.

This time we had 10-minute reports by almost all participants.
My own feeling is that this new format was very beneficial. 

I used my own (10-minute) report for soliciting submissions
to the journal of COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY, inform the participants
about a book I have been writing, and share my thoughts regarding
the organization of this meeting. My draft for this report is enclosed.


[written: July 2007] 



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DRAFT FOR MY 10-MINUTE REPORT

Erich thinks that it is not good to report on two different topics,
so let me try to report on three...

1) THE JOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY

My thesis (not to be articulated for lack of time) 
is that it is good for an area to have a journal devoted to it.

The journal of computational complexity (jcc) thus fulfills
an important role, and it is up to us to make it stronger.
In my opinion, any paper in computational complexity that
is not submitted to JACM or SICOMP, should be submitted to jcc. 
If we all do so, then jcc will be a very good journal.

[In response to a question from the audience, I have advocated
the importance of "second rate papers" saying that they play
an important role in the scientific process. Most of our works
are "second rate" and still they are important and interesting 
enough for our community.] 

2) MY BOOK ON COMPUTATIONAL COMPLEXITY -- CONCEPTUAL PERSPECTIVE

In the last couple of years, I have spent most of my time
writing a book on computational complexity. 
The book focuses on the conceptual aspects of the field; 
that is, much of the text is devoted to motivating the questions, 
definitions, and various choices made in the field. 
While we are all aware of these aspects, it is my impression 
that we often neglect to communicate them to the students. 
The book tries to go in the other direction. 

3) BEING AN ORGANIZER

The following thoughts are trivial, but it is my impression
(based on reactions from many participants) 
that these thoughts have escaped many participants.

Firstly, organizing this meeting means taking many
(highly non-trivial) decisions like who to invite
and how to organize the schedule/format. 
Let me demonstrate the difficulty by discussing
the choices involved in the invitation process,
which are arguably the most important decisions. 
I can easily make a list of 150 people that I think
should be invited to this meeting 
(and Avi can probably make a list twice as large), 
but the Oberwolfach office only allows us a much smaller number 
(ranging between 40-55, depending on their own constraints at a time) 
which is absolutely non-flexible. 
Selecting 50 (or so) people out of 150 is a very hard task, 
both intellectually and emotionally. 

Secondly, the aforementioned decisions
(i.e., re format, let alone invitee list)
attempt to satisfy various goals that are often conflicting.
Sometimes, I personally have conflicting goals/desires,
not to mention that different people may have conflicting goals/desires. 
Thus, no decision can be perfect, since all decision are compromises 
between conflicting goals. 
Furthermore, often, decisions are make at some time, 
while their implementation occurs at a later time.
All we can do is applying the best of our judgment
(which may not be good enough -- but this is what we have...), 
and make decisions that are best, in our opinion, at the time. 

[June 29, 2007]