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Certainly the hyperbole is part of the story. And again, let me say I think its fun fiction. However, I still have strong regrets that the author choose to sti

Certainly the hyperbole is part of the story. And again, let me say I think its fun fiction. However, I still have strong regrets that the author choose to stick the label "quantum" on it just to make it powerful/magical. Why not call it a massively-interconnected, nano-organic cellular automata computer instead? Sure, it looses its literary flair, but quantum mechanics and computing is already so rarely understood in the public world, I hate to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model.

itistoday 16y ago
I hate to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model. I know I may get downvoted for this "me-too" comment, but just wanted to let you know that I was very happy to see both of your comments, as I share your sentiment exactly. This entire story is impossible, but many readers, not knowing much about QM might walk away thinking it's "plausible" due to their ignorance and the way the story is presented. Which isn't to say that's a bad thing on its own, but then they walk up to me and badger me with this bullshit... :-p
RevRal 16y ago
I hate to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model. I love to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model.
SamReidHughes 16y ago
> Why not call it a massively-interconnected, nano-organic cellular automata computer instead? That would be unrealistic, absurd, and impossible. How are you going to get an infinite amount of computation in finite time with a cellular automaton or a computer made out of discrete components? The only chance of realistic technobabble is quantum effects. That way, you can pull all sorts of mumbo jumbo like "doing infinitely many things in parallel" or "teleporting the results of computation across space without violating causality" or "expressing the future of a simulation in the binary expansion of real number." And the story simply wouldn't work without a deterministic universe. P.S. I'm not the author.

itistoday 16y ago

I hate to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model. I know I may get downvoted for this "me-too" comment, but just wanted to let you know that I was very happy to see both of your comments, as I share your sentiment exactly. This entire story is impossible, but many readers, not knowing much about QM might walk away thinking it's "plausible" due to their ignorance and the way the story is presented. Which isn't to say that's a bad thing on its own, but then they walk up to me and badger me with this bullshit... :-p

RevRal 16y ago

I hate to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model. I love to see fiction encouraging a deterministic model.

SamReidHughes 16y ago

> Why not call it a massively-interconnected, nano-organic cellular automata computer instead? That would be unrealistic, absurd, and impossible. How are you going to get an infinite amount of computation in finite time with a cellular automaton or a computer made out of discrete components? The only chance of realistic technobabble is quantum effects. That way, you can pull all sorts of mumbo jumbo like "doing infinitely many things in parallel" or "teleporting the results of computation across space without violating causality" or "expressing the future of a simulation in the binary expansion of real number." And the story simply wouldn't work without a deterministic universe. P.S. I'm not the author.