§7.2: Probabilistically checkable proofs of proximity

In the previous section we saw that every subproperty of the dictatorship property has a $3$-query local tester. In this section we will show that any property whatsoever has a $3$-query local tester — if an appropriate “proof” is provided.

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Additive Combinatorics and the Polynomial Freiman–Rusza Conjecture

I originally planned for Chapter 9 of the book to be about additive combinatorics. However in the interests of completing the book before I die of old age, I am planning to make some cuts. It now looks like Chapter 9 (being a rather standalone topic in the context of the book) will hit the [...]

§7.1: Dictator testing

In Chapter 1.6 we described the BLR property testing algorithm: given query access to an unknown function $f : \{0,1\}^n \to \{0,1\}$, this algorithm queries $f$ on a few random inputs and approximately determines whether $f$ has the property of being linear over ${\mathbb F}_2$. The field of property testing for boolean functions is concerned [...]

Chapter 7: Property testing, PCPPs, and CSPs

In this chapter we study several closely intertwined topics: property testing, probabilistically checkable proofs of proximity (PCPPs), and constraint satisfaction problems (CSPs). All of our work will be centred around the task of testing whether an unknown boolean function is a dictator. We begin by extending the BLR Test to give a $3$-query property testing [...]

Chapter 6 notes

The ${\mathbb F}_2$-polynomial representation of a boolean function $f$ is often called its algebraic normal form. It seems to have first been explicitly introduced by Zhegalkin in 1927 [Zhe27].

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Chapter 6 exercises

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§6.5: Highlight: Fooling ${\mathbb F}_2$-polynomials

Recall that a density $\varphi$ is said to be $\epsilon$-biased if its correlation with every ${\mathbb F}_2$-linear function $f$ is at most $\epsilon$ in magnitude. In the lingo of pseudorandomness, one says that $\varphi$ fools the class of ${\mathbb F}_2$-linear functions:

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§6.4: Applications in learning and testing

In this section we describe some applications of our study of pseudorandomness.

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§6.3: Constructions of various pseudorandom functions

In this section we give some constructions of boolean functions with strong pseudorandomness properties.

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§6.2: ${\mathbb F}_2$-polynomials

We began our study of boolean functions in Chapter 1.2 by considering their polynomial representations over the real field. In this section we take a brief look at their polynomial representations over the field ${\mathbb F}_2$, with $\mathsf{False}$, $\mathsf{True}$ being represented by $0, 1 \in {\mathbb F}_2$ as usual. Note that in the field ${\mathbb [...]