QC is a weird field. When they invented computers such as we have now, it seems to me the actual computer (Babbage, Zuse or ENIAC) came before the formalism. The formalism made subsequent machines work better, and provided clear thinking on how to use such contraptions. This is an attempt from the other direction. "We have no idea how to do this, but if we could, here is more than two decades worth of formalism research on what we guess might be true." As such, well, it seems a weird way to invent new things. It's like inventing control systems for faster than light travel or something.
D-wave though; I'll believe it when they do something that can't be done any other way. Google and NASA do a lot of weird things, and take peculiar risks (Lockheed; same thing). I guess that's what they are there for. -SL <quote author="Donna Y"> >Hi Scott >Thanks for this and the links. Ten years ago I was as skeptical as you and >hadn't thought much about it since. I guess when I saw >NASA and Google buying D-Wave machines I assumed there was something they >could do. The Quantum Story then is just the latest >version of the Emperor's New Clothes? ---------------------------------------------------------------------- For information about J forums see http://www.jsoftware.com/forums.htm
