Hash Functions: Bridging the Gap from Theory to Practice

Watch a technical talk from Google's Algorithms Seminar where Professor Mikkel Thorup explores the complex relationship between theoretical and practical applications of hash functions in computing. Delve into the challenges of implementing randomized algorithms and hash functions in real-world applications, particularly in machine learning contexts involving high-dimensional data processing. Learn about recent developments in tabulation-based hash functions that provide strong theoretical guarantees while remaining practical to implement. Understand why simplistic hash functions may perform well in tests with random input but fail with structured real-world data, and discover solutions for bridging the gap between theoretical assumptions and practical implementations. Benefit from the expertise of Professor Thorup, a distinguished academic and researcher from the University of Copenhagen, whose work has earned numerous prestigious awards including the ACM STOC 20-year test of time award and the AMS-MOS Fulkerson Prize.