TBT: A decades-old computer science puzzle was solved in two pages

PLUS: The best WIRED stories from this month a year ago. View this email in your browser  |  Manage newsletter subscriptions 08.27.20 For nearly three decades, a "sensitivity conjecture" about the structure of computer circuit building blocks stumped the most prominent computer scientists. It was "one of the most frustrating and embarrassing open problems in all of combinatorics and theoretical computer science." Then a researcher found an answer so simple, it could be summed up in a single tweet. Read all about the solution to a decades-old computer science puzzle, plus the best WIRED stories from this month a year ago, below.   A Decades-Old Computer Science Puzzle Was Solved in Two Pages With a stunningly simple proof, a researcher has finally cracked the sensitivity conjecture, "one of the most frustrating and embarrassing open problems." The Best Stories From This Month, Last Year Mysterious iOS Attack Changes Everything We Know About iPhone Hacking For two years, a handful of websites indiscriminately hacked thousands of iPhones. Why a Promising, Potent Cancer Therapy Isn't Used in the US Carbon ion radiation therapy is being used to blast tumors all over the world. Just not in the country that invented it. We're Eating This Planet to Death A new IPCC report is clear: If we can't figure out how to feed our species more sustainably, climate change will accelerate and make it harder to grow food. This Tesla Mod Turns a Model S Into a Mobile 'Surveillance Station' The Surveillance Detection Scout can track license plates and faces near your Tesla—with all the privacy concerns that implies. Inside the Hidden World of Hacking Elevator Phones Eavesdropping, reprogramming, talking to strangers: Welcome to the harmless and not-so-harmless fun of hacking elevator call boxes. How Safecrackers Can Unlock an ATM in Minutes—Without Leaving a Trace At Defcon, security researcher Mike Davis showed how he can pick the lock of an ATM safe in no time, thanks to its electric leaks.     This e-mail was sent to you by WIRED. To ensure delivery to your inbox (not bulk or junk folders), please add our e-mail address, wired@newsletters.wired.com, to your address book.   View our Privacy Policy Unsubscribe or manage your newsletter subscriptions