Programming on quantum computers

seanreisk

[H]ard|Gawd
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Last January AlphaAtlas posted about IBM's first quantum computer, the Q System One. Now IBM is starting a new initiative that allows 'people' (whomever, apparently) to program and run experiments on IBM's quantum cloud system called The IBM Q Experience.

If you're interested, give it a try and tell me what you think. It's not as complicated as it looks. On a scale of 1-to-10 I'd say it's less complicated than setting up a variable-cost shopping basket on Amazon Stores (but that's mostly because Amazon has never gone back through their documentation and removed all the old, redacted information).

P.S. I've been pseudo-following this because I'm a member of a group of hobbyists that has been toying with creating a program that would optimize circuit layouts, but we're apparently years behind on this idea, since all the quantum geeks thought of the same idea the moment they first rationalized why you might need a quantum computer. If you think about it, though, all the variables that can be measured in creating a motherboard, or maybe a cell phone, variables such as component cost, component dependability, component temperature, efficiency, noise, circuit length, manufacturers, blah-blah-blah, it would be really cool to have a program that could intake all the variables needed at all the connecting points and then tell you, "This would be the best layout for the circuit, and this company would manufacture it the cheapest." These optimizations are what quantum computers are good at.

P.P.S. This is IBM's video on quantum computing for WIRED's '5 Level's of Difficulty' series.

And here's a mind numbing video on quantum mechanics. It won't help you, but if people ask you what you're doing, you can say, "Watch this," and using the probabilities of quantum spin I predict they will fuck right off.
 
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It won't help you, but if people ask you what you're doing, you can say, "Watch this," and using the probabilities of quantum spin I predict they will fuck right off.

I wonder if it will work on my 4 year old
 
Yet another new technology humanity doesnt really know what to do with it --- yet.

Lasers were going to be all about space combat and death rays until it turned out bar code scanners and cd-roms were more practical. Makes me wonder what/when quantum computers will do when the niche is found.
 
Makes me wonder what/when quantum computers will do when the niche is found.

Since quantum computers are best at choosing an optimal path from an exponentially large number of options, it will probably have something to do with getting laid. You'll know it's being deployed when the world market for Axe Body Spray collapses.
 
Since quantum computers are best at...

The problem with quantum computers is that they really aren't good at anything. IBM, Google, et all are all struggling, they thought they were going to have quantum computers that could beat conventional computers at certain tasks by 2017. Thus far they aren't even able to factor small numbers, let alone do something practical like optimize a circuit.

I'm finding myself drifting into the camp that suspects quantum computing is BS, at least in it's current incarnation. It's got a bunch of scientific interest because it's complicated and sounds cool but when you dig in it's not really practical, not unlike how blockchains got hyped up as an alternative to traditional databases.
 
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A firm believer in conventional computing with whatever devices can reasonably be made to work.
Not stuck on conventional transistors though. Parametrons might be a viable quantum alternative.

Far as I know, you can't factor numbers any bigger than the multipler you build to work both ways.
Unrolling a multipler into a non-recursive bi-directional circuit becomes unreasonabe right quick.
Recursion and one-way stepwise problem solving are cheats we may not be able to live without.
 
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Since quantum computers are best at choosing an optimal path from an exponentially large number of options, it will probably have something to do with getting laid. You'll know it's being deployed when the world market for Axe Body Spray collapses.

Hopefully someone can use it to make a dating website that doesn't suck. BUT that'd require people to be honest answering profile questions so....so much for that idea.
 
Sounds cool and all, but this far I haven't seen any practical uses with the # of qubits available.
 
My intuition is the tech going into quantum computers has uses - but it may be something very different than what we think right now.


Boolean math was an oddity

Talking does not belong in pictures

A British Parliament Committee noted in 1878 that Edison's light bulb was "good enough for our Transatlantic friends... but unworthy of the attention of practical or scientific men." (Source: https://www.businessinsider.com/inventions-that-were-ridiculed-2016-8#light-bulbs-1)

Binary was invented in 1689 (per google) took a while for that one to have a practice use - what was that again?
 
The problem with quantum computers is that they really aren't good at anything. IBM, Google, et all are all struggling, they thought they were going to have quantum computers that could beat conventional computers at certain tasks by 2017. Thus far they aren't even able to factor small numbers, let alone do something practical like optimize a circuit.

I'm finding myself drifting into the camp that suspects quantum computing is BS, at least in it's current incarnation. It's got a bunch of scientific interest because it's complicated and sounds cool but when you dig in it's not really practical, not unlike how blockchains got hyped up as an alternative to traditional databases.
Ive been in that camp for a while now....
What cemented me there and will keep me there for the foreseeable future is hearing a quantum computing engineer say with a straight face that they don't get the same answer from the "computer" so they need to learn "what questions" to ask.
Get the fuck out.
I think biological 'brain in jar' computing will be a much more real thing than quantum computing ever will.
 
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