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I'm also glad they didn't fallback on the "easy" explanation. Funnily enough, an SMBC comic [0] is what made quantum computing "click" for me, and how it's not

I'm also glad they didn't fallback on the "easy" explanation. Funnily enough, an SMBC comic [0] is what made quantum computing "click" for me, and how it's not really easily mappable back to classical ideas. The comic was a joint effort with Scott Aaronson and SMBC creator Zach Weinersmith, and as far as I can tell is pretty close to a faithful explanation of the basics without diving into the technical details. [0] https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-talk-3 https://www.smbc-comics.com/comic/the-talk-3

sundarurfriend 9y ago
Thanks a lot for that link. That comic was a ton of fun (as one would expect from SMBC).
connorelsea 9y ago
If this comic isn't diving into technical details then I must be an idiot
- Klathmon 9y ago
  I meant more that it's not trying to act like a whitepaper and "prove" the concepts it's explaining, which I think a lot of explanations of really complex topics end up spending way too much time on and lose the reader. There are parts of the comic that I don't even begin to understand (I honestly couldn't tell you if hilbert space is even a real thing, and I don't even want to being to think about how or why amplitudes can be complex, and what you would possibly do with a complex probability...), but the whole idea of amplitudes being loosely analogous to probabilities,and how interference is the real "secret sauce" that allows quantum computers to gain a big advantage in some problems is what it finally made click for me. And it kind of got across the point that the real difficulty with quantum computing is going to be in isolating these "qbits" from the world (which made the originally linked article much easier to read). I've also attempted to read a bunch about it from many different sources before this, so I had some primer on some of the ideas behind it, but couldn't understand how the parts fit together, or why they were such a big deal (often flip-flopping between the 2 feelings depending on the metaphors the last thing I read used).
  - connorelsea 9y ago
    Yeah, the comic is probably quite a bit more accessible. Although I'm still left wondering if there is a proper ELI5 for quantum computing somewhere out there
    - Klathmon 9y ago
      I really don't think there is, and I don't think there will be one ever. If quantum computers ever become "mainstream", I think we will need to start teaching the basics behind them in schools, because there isn't an easy way to map the ideas there to classical ones. I think of it like imagine trying to explain how a CPU works to a person that doesn't know basic math. There is no way to even "ELI5" that, there just isn't enough of a foundation to work from, and any attempt to do so would take so many liberties that it wouldn't even really be useful. Right now quantum computing seems extremely difficult to even understand the basics because 99.99%+ of us are missing those foundations.
      - cookiecaper 9y ago
        But if you're explaining it to a 5 year old, they've hardly been poisoned by the classical ideology taught in schools. You couldn't analogize it to a classical concept anyway because they wouldn't have the background. So maybe there would be an ELI5 that would be effective, if it was intended to be understood by someone without the baggage of traditionalism. :)
        tempestn 9y ago
        Sure, but the true ELI5 would take years to get through the necessary fundamentals.
        dahauns 9y ago
        And end with a diploma for the now young adult.
  - sundarurfriend 9y ago
- nick_ 9y ago
  The sentence in the last box made me chuckle. It reads like a parody of something Deepak Chopra would write.
  - Klathmon 9y ago
    With SMBC there is always a "hidden" last panel too, you can see it by clicking the big red button at the bottom right of the comic. Although this one won't make any sense unless you read a lot of these kinds of webcomics!
jakeinspace 9y ago
The general idea I've had is that a quantum computer will be much more similar to a classical analog computer than digital. It requires setting up a quantum system which models the problem physically, and relies on quantum properties (interference i suppose) to descend on the correct solution without doing any sort of brute-forcing. Thanks for the comic link, really helpful.
jeffwass 9y ago
LOL. From your link : The Kid : Wait, you guys put complex numbers in your ontologies? The Mom: We do and we enjoy it. The Kid : Ewww

sundarurfriend 9y ago

Thanks a lot for that link. That comic was a ton of fun (as one would expect from SMBC).

connorelsea 9y ago

If this comic isn't diving into technical details then I must be an idiot

Klathmon 9y ago
I meant more that it's not trying to act like a whitepaper and "prove" the concepts it's explaining, which I think a lot of explanations of really complex topics end up spending way too much time on and lose the reader. There are parts of the comic that I don't even begin to understand (I honestly couldn't tell you if hilbert space is even a real thing, and I don't even want to being to think about how or why amplitudes can be complex, and what you would possibly do with a complex probability...), but the whole idea of amplitudes being loosely analogous to probabilities,and how interference is the real "secret sauce" that allows quantum computers to gain a big advantage in some problems is what it finally made click for me. And it kind of got across the point that the real difficulty with quantum computing is going to be in isolating these "qbits" from the world (which made the originally linked article much easier to read). I've also attempted to read a bunch about it from many different sources before this, so I had some primer on some of the ideas behind it, but couldn't understand how the parts fit together, or why they were such a big deal (often flip-flopping between the 2 feelings depending on the metaphors the last thing I read used).
- connorelsea 9y ago
  Yeah, the comic is probably quite a bit more accessible. Although I'm still left wondering if there is a proper ELI5 for quantum computing somewhere out there
  - Klathmon 9y ago
    I really don't think there is, and I don't think there will be one ever. If quantum computers ever become "mainstream", I think we will need to start teaching the basics behind them in schools, because there isn't an easy way to map the ideas there to classical ones. I think of it like imagine trying to explain how a CPU works to a person that doesn't know basic math. There is no way to even "ELI5" that, there just isn't enough of a foundation to work from, and any attempt to do so would take so many liberties that it wouldn't even really be useful. Right now quantum computing seems extremely difficult to even understand the basics because 99.99%+ of us are missing those foundations.
    - cookiecaper 9y ago
      But if you're explaining it to a 5 year old, they've hardly been poisoned by the classical ideology taught in schools. You couldn't analogize it to a classical concept anyway because they wouldn't have the background. So maybe there would be an ELI5 that would be effective, if it was intended to be understood by someone without the baggage of traditionalism. :)
      - tempestn 9y ago
        Sure, but the true ELI5 would take years to get through the necessary fundamentals.
        dahauns 9y ago
        And end with a diploma for the now young adult.
- sundarurfriend 9y ago
nick_ 9y ago
The sentence in the last box made me chuckle. It reads like a parody of something Deepak Chopra would write.
- Klathmon 9y ago
  With SMBC there is always a "hidden" last panel too, you can see it by clicking the big red button at the bottom right of the comic. Although this one won't make any sense unless you read a lot of these kinds of webcomics!

jakeinspace 9y ago

The general idea I've had is that a quantum computer will be much more similar to a classical analog computer than digital. It requires setting up a quantum system which models the problem physically, and relies on quantum properties (interference i suppose) to descend on the correct solution without doing any sort of brute-forcing. Thanks for the comic link, really helpful.

jeffwass 9y ago

LOL. From your link : The Kid : Wait, you guys put complex numbers in your ontologies? The Mom: We do and we enjoy it. The Kid : Ewww