P != NP is, as you point out, a purely mathematical statement, so it seems safe to assume that what was meant was P^(real world) != NP^(real world), which could of course be true or false for differing values of “real world”.
P != NP is, as you point out, a purely mathematical statement, so it seems safe to assume that what was meant was P^(real world) != NP^(real world), which could of course be true or false for differing values of “real world”.