It's kind of confusing so let me attempt to summarize.
These guys at the University of Illinois built a quantum computer using beam splitters, photons, and I think spoons. The computer was designed to solve a very simple problem just to see if it worked. Well, it worked. Which is great, but it solved the problem before they even ran the program . Creepy!
...answers the question before the question is asked...I think I know someone like that...
me: "Hey, do know wh..." Sherry: "...they're on the kitchen table." ------- me: "Do you want..." Sherry: "...no. I have my period." ------- me: "Will you..." Sherry: "...Yeah sure. Let me just my schedule. Ah, here we are. How about never?"
Makes perfect sense to me. At this very moment, it is the posibility that I could be doing some work that actually prevents me from doing it. :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd if your manager can't understand that just tell him:
ReplyDelete"By trying to observe me working, you've reduced my work probability to zero (well 1/inifinity)."
I was going to read that article, but I knew what it said before you posted it. Next...
ReplyDelete"By placing our photon in a quantum superposition of running and not running the search algorithm, we obtained information about the answer even when the photon did not run the search algorithm."
ReplyDeleteI'd be more impressed if this sentence made any sense to me at all.
I'm not sure how a photon runs an algorithm, let alone what it means to be placed in a superposition of running and not running. And what does 'obtained information about the answer' mean? Does it mean they got the answer? Here's some information about there answer - I don't know the answer. And I didn't even need a quantum computer to obtain that.
I hate all this stuff, seriously. Asking me to forget the basic rules of classical physics, and asking me to accept that I cannot observe results (but only "infer" them) sounds exactly like mysticism to me. And not just me apparently. That's why <a href="http://www.magicaltransform...">this ad</a> can be found on the page with that scientific article.