A function $f \colon \{0, 1\}^* \to \{0, 1\}^*$ is one-way if $f$ can be computed by a polynomial time algorithm, but for every randomized polynomial time algorithm $A$,$\Pr[f(A(f(x))) = f(x)] < 1/p(n)$ for every polynomial $p(n)$ and sufficiently large $n$, assuming that $x$ is chosen uniformly from $\{ 0, 1 \}^n$. The probability is taken over the choice of $x$ and the randomness of $A$.So... do One Way Functions have any applications outside cryptography? If yes, what are they?
Do One Way Functions have any applications outside crypto ?
cc.complexity theory;cr.crypto security;one way function
One-way functions show up crucially in the Razborov-Rudich natural proofs result. I wouldn't consider circuit lower bounds as part of cryptography, so maybe this fits your criteria. 