The original version of this story was published in Quanta Magazine and explores the concept of finding the best route for a commute. The article discusses how this can be a challenge for researchers who develop algorithms, as there are many different ways to solve a problem and determining which is the best can be difficult. However, a new proof has shown that for the quintessential path-finding problem, there is one algorithm that is close to ideal. This algorithm, developed by Dutch computer scientist Edsger Dijkstra in 1956, has stood the test of time and is still considered the best approach for finding the fastest route on any street grid, assuming worst-case traffic patterns. The algorithm will be presented with a best-paper award at the 2024 Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science. Dijkstra’s algorithm is unique in its origin story, as it was developed in his head during a break at a café without the use of pencil and paper. Its enduring appeal can be attributed to its simplicity and ability to avoid unnecessary complexities.
