In the (deletion-channel) trace reconstruction problem, there is an unknown n-bit source string x. An algorithm is given access to independent traces of x, where a trace is formed by deleting each bit ...

In the age of Facebook and Netflix, the word “algorithm” has become so ubiquitous, and its connotation so amorphous, that it’s verging on jargon—maybe even cliché. The Atlantic’s Ian Bogost has ...