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From: leff@smu.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.jokes
Subject: General Relativity Joke - (nf)
Message-ID: <3833@uiucdcs.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 14-Nov-83 05:20:46 EST
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.3833
Posted: Mon Nov 14 05:20:46 1983
Date-Received: Tue, 15-Nov-83 05:31:53 EST
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#N:smu:13400001:000:1049
smu!leff    Nov 12 18:35:00 1983

At about 2500 A. D., human society discovers the need to solve
a problem on a computer.  THe only difficulty is that the problem
is NP complete and will take thousands of years even with the latest
optical biologic technology available.  The best computer
scientists sit down to think up some solution.  In great dismay,
one of the C. S. people tells her husband about it.  There is
only one solution, he says.  Remember physics 103, Modern Physics,
general relativity and all.  She says, ' what does that have to do
with solving a computer problem?'

'Remember the twin paradox?'

After a few minutes, she says, 'I could put the computer on a 
very fast machine and the computer would have a few minutes to
calculate but that is the exact opposite of what we want.'

'Of course, leave the computer here and accelerate the earth.'

The problem was so important that they did exactly that.  When
the earth comes back, they look at the answer:
'IEH032 Error in JOB Control Card.'

(Acknowledgements to PRofessor callan at TAMU for the original idea.)