Galactic Algorithm

Term for asymptotically superior algorithms that can never run on Earth-sized data, coined by Richard Lipton and Ken Regan.

Specifications & Metrics

Galactic algorithms are asymptotically superior but never used in practice, because the problem sizes where they win never occur on Earth.
The term was coined by Richard Lipton and Ken Regan because such algorithms 'will never be used on any data sets on Earth'.
Even when never run, galactic algorithms can prove that conjectured bounds are achievable and thereby advance the theory of algorithms.