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Hi so this is my first submission to Hacker News. I don't know if there are rules against posting your own work in this forum, if so I apologize. Have been read

Hi so this is my first submission to Hacker News. I don't know if there are rules against posting your own work in this forum, if so I apologize. Have been reading a bit here and there on quantum computers for a while and thought it would be fun to try and consolidate key concepts and terms into a blog post, hope some here may enjoy.

ivan_ah 10y ago
Hi Nic, no rules against self-posting as long as it's interesting articles like yours and not just self promotion. I know a bit about quantum computing too so I did a high-level fact checking of your post without finding any bugs. Impressed you managed to do math equations on medium. It is a bit long though... saved to continue later. On a different note and for a different perspective, you should check out this excellent review paper by Sara Robinson, Emerging Insights on Limitations of Quantum Computing Shape Quest for Fast Algorithms: https://www.siam.org/pdf/news/100.pdf https://www.siam.org/pdf/news/100.pdf It's an old article, but all the points she raises are still valid. I think it's going to be REALLY hard to get large number of coherent qubits to do computations.
- nicholast 10y ago
  Agree this post was a little longer than what I usually write, obviously I was't going to achieve a comprehensive overview but I wanted to touch on as many of key points as I could without going overboard. I tried to make up for length by incorporating some humorous elements in the second half and limiting math equations to the minimum necessary for elementary concepts. It reads better if you use the soundtrack :) The detailed challenges of extending coherence time are mostly hidden to those whose primarily research tools are search engines and textbooks such as myself. This is the realm of proprietary tech, all I can do is speculate based on the credibility of those making large investments in the space that those in the know see potential.
  - nicholast 10y ago
    PS just added a few more more graphics / some humorous elements to first half of post, it was a little dry, I think it reads better now.

ivan_ah 10y ago

Hi Nic, no rules against self-posting as long as it's interesting articles like yours and not just self promotion. I know a bit about quantum computing too so I did a high-level fact checking of your post without finding any bugs. Impressed you managed to do math equations on medium. It is a bit long though... saved to continue later. On a different note and for a different perspective, you should check out this excellent review paper by Sara Robinson, Emerging Insights on Limitations of Quantum Computing Shape Quest for Fast Algorithms: https://www.siam.org/pdf/news/100.pdf https://www.siam.org/pdf/news/100.pdf It's an old article, but all the points she raises are still valid. I think it's going to be REALLY hard to get large number of coherent qubits to do computations.

nicholast 10y ago
Agree this post was a little longer than what I usually write, obviously I was't going to achieve a comprehensive overview but I wanted to touch on as many of key points as I could without going overboard. I tried to make up for length by incorporating some humorous elements in the second half and limiting math equations to the minimum necessary for elementary concepts. It reads better if you use the soundtrack :) The detailed challenges of extending coherence time are mostly hidden to those whose primarily research tools are search engines and textbooks such as myself. This is the realm of proprietary tech, all I can do is speculate based on the credibility of those making large investments in the space that those in the know see potential.
- nicholast 10y ago
  PS just added a few more more graphics / some humorous elements to first half of post, it was a little dry, I think it reads better now.