Comments on: Shor, I’ll do it

By: John Sidles

John Sidles — Sat, 10 Mar 2007 21:29:20 +0000

sab says: Nature has already built the most powerful computer we know of, actually nature has already built everything we are discovering

The technologies found in nature include most of “the classics”: radar, wheels, levers, fire, catalysts, networks, aircraft, refrigerators.

A major exception is the class of quantum coherent technologies that includes masers and lasers, magnetic resonance imaging, and their offspring quantum computation.

By: sab

sab — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 15:12:56 +0000

My question is, will a quantum computer be self-aware?

nature has already built the most powerful computer we know of, actually nature has already built everything we are discovering, from jet engines in bacteria, to video cameras (eyes).

is it possible that nature has already made a quantum computer also?

I have heard that one way to build a quantum computer would be with a mass of plasma and a magnetic field.

I can think of a pretty complex one already. The sun. The star that sits just 93 million miles away from our planet.

if our sun is like a quantum computer, is it also plausible that our sun is actually aware of its surroundings and is also aware of us?

Now i am not one for religion, but to it is way more plausible that the sun is intelligent and is aware of us like we are aware of bacteria than there is a GOD who is omnipotent who knows everything and created the whole universe.

By: QED « Oh yes, I’ve got a blog now….

QED « Oh yes, I’ve got a blog now…. — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:27:50 +0000

[...] QED Filed under: Computing, Geek, Technology — McBaine @ 5:22 am Here’s a well written but succint article on a singular tenet of quantum computing called Shor’s Algorithm. The concept of parallel computing through quantum computers is an idea that has been expressed by a number of authors in the scientific community, but as Aaronson clearly demonstrates its not quite an accurate description of what takes place. Read it here. [...]

By: Nomadishere : Seeker of Truth » Blog Archive » links for 2007-03-04

Nomadishere : Seeker of Truth » Blog Archive » links for 2007-03-04 — Sun, 04 Mar 2007 23:26:14 +0000

[...] Shtetl-Optimized » Blog Archive » Shor, I’ll do it (tags: quantum.computing quantum.mathematics mathematics science shor quantum.theory quantum.algorithm) [...]

By: Daniel

Daniel — Sat, 03 Mar 2007 11:01:51 +0000

Thanks a lot, Scott. I’m just a science enthusiast with little to no knowledge of the mathematics that are usually necessary to understand serious explanations on quantum computing… but I find your post most enlightning.
I think the clocks’ example is brilliant, I like it even more than the swingers’ one; maybe some got lost because of the personal references about schedules shifts (which I’m pretty familiar with) or the explanations on the experiment with the dark room; but it seemed to me a classic example of indirect measuring (or maybe I got it all wrong! hahaha).
Sorry for the long, non-contributing comment, thanks again.

By: Scott

Scott — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 22:00:11 +0000

Thanks, Cynthia! But the piece of mine that’s going to appear in Scientific American is a different one — sorry for the confusion!

By: Cynthia

Cynthia — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 21:37:40 +0000

Scott, gotta say, to incorporate Prof. Shor into the title of your post is a really nice show of respect for one of your fellow computing experts. Come to think of it, you oughta consider retaining this title “Shor, I’ll do it” when you publish this essay in “Scientific American.” If nothing at all, the title has a nice ring to it!

Although my words don’t carry much weight–if not–any weight at all, I must remark that this piece on quantum algorithms is–far and away–the best one I’ve had the pleasure of coming across so far…

Once again, thanks for sharing!

By: myninjaplease » Blog Archive » Quantum computing explained

myninjaplease » Blog Archive » Quantum computing explained — Thu, 01 Mar 2007 19:35:11 +0000

[...] [...]

By: John Sidles

John Sidles — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 18:41:00 +0000

The discussion on this topic is very enjoyable.

Feynman’s (relatively) little-known book QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter uses arrows-head-to-tail as a physical model of quantum superposition, and thereby avoids using any equations at all (if memory serves) to explain all of quantum electrodynamics.

By: Mohammad

Mohammad — Tue, 27 Feb 2007 16:53:03 +0000

Hi Scott,
Very nice article. I think we in theoretical computer science will certainly benefit a lot from having more people like you.