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No, this is quite certainly a model/simulator for a digital quantum computer (implemented on top of a harmonic oscillator). It is becoming a pet peeve of mine,

No, this is quite certainly a model/simulator for a digital quantum computer (implemented on top of a harmonic oscillator). It is becoming a pet peeve of mine, but on most HN posts about quantum computing somebody always mentions some misunderstood statement about continuous variables. Yes, there are many interesting ideas around the use of harmonic oscillators (the older name for the vague and misleading term "continuous variables") to store data, but most of the time it is just one of many ways to implement the same digital computer.

adamnemecek 8y ago
From https://strawberryfields.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quantum_algorithms.html https://strawberryfields.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quantum_al... Here we will discuss several continuous-variable (CV) quantum algorithm examples that can be run with Strawberry Fields. > It is becoming a pet peeve of mine, but on most HN posts about quantum computing somebody always mentions some misunderstood statement about continuous variables. That someone is me. I’d love to hear what I misunderstand. > the time it is just one of many ways to implement the same digital computer. Yeah, what I’m talking about isn’t a digital computer.
- krastanov 8y ago
  Admittedly, I overreacted and I will edit my previous post. The gist of my complaint is that digital vs continuous variables is a false distinction. One is just a system on top of which to implement the other. The useful computation you get out of the quantum oscillator, comes when you implement your digital logic on top of it.
  - adamnemecek 8y ago
    > One is just a system on top of which to implement the other. We fundamentally disagree on this point. A continuous variable computer is more powerful than a digital one. I know error correction is tricky but I’m still convinced that the analog computer is superior.
    - 6nf 8y ago
      If analog computers are superior why is everything digital
      - adamnemecek 8y ago
        Around ww2 analog electric computers were pretty common however electricity suffers from something called rift, basically they get inaccurate over time. We developed digital computers as they fix the problem with rift. Photonics don’t suffer for rift so at some point we should revisit analog computing.
    - krastanov 8y ago
      This is an incredibly strong statement that virtually nobody in the field agrees with. 1. Continuous variable (in the context of quantum computing) is frequently different from "analog". See bosonic codes for instance. 2. We stopped using classical analog computers because they suffer from noise (which is a fundamental problem, not just a technical issue). Noise is even worse in the case of quantum computing (the claim you make in a sibling comment that some analog systems do not have that problem is wrong/unsupported by any evidence). 3. The main point of disconnect is that noise is a fundamental issue stemming from the laws of physics and computational complexity. There is a large body of evidence that shows that the existence of a scalable analog computer (classical or quantum) will break many structures in computational complexity. A hunch is not enough of an argument to counter those. Presenting a hunch like that is extremely misleading to the people who are trying to get into the field. 4. A hunch is certainly a good thing to research, but do not present it as something of equivalent value to established facts or empirically supported conjectures.
      - adamnemecek 8y ago
        1: imagine I put analog in quotation marks. 2: correct but that was electricity. Light still has that problem but less. 3: let’s get more concrete. Which particular papers do you have in mind? So what is all the continuous variable research about? > Presenting a hunch like that is extremely misleading to the people who are trying to get into the field. I’m sure that the number of people who get into the field based on my comment is 0.
jackfraser 8y ago
> on most HN posts about quantum computing somebody always mentions some misunderstood statement about continuous variables. Well, the D-Wave quantum computer seems to be functionally an analogue machine, so while you're limited to some variety of floating point precision when specifying the values for qubit and connection bias, it's certainly not 0 and 1 when it hits the hardware.

adamnemecek 8y ago

From https://strawberryfields.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quantum_algorithms.html https://strawberryfields.readthedocs.io/en/latest/quantum_al... Here we will discuss several continuous-variable (CV) quantum algorithm examples that can be run with Strawberry Fields. > It is becoming a pet peeve of mine, but on most HN posts about quantum computing somebody always mentions some misunderstood statement about continuous variables. That someone is me. I’d love to hear what I misunderstand. > the time it is just one of many ways to implement the same digital computer. Yeah, what I’m talking about isn’t a digital computer.

krastanov 8y ago
Admittedly, I overreacted and I will edit my previous post. The gist of my complaint is that digital vs continuous variables is a false distinction. One is just a system on top of which to implement the other. The useful computation you get out of the quantum oscillator, comes when you implement your digital logic on top of it.
- adamnemecek 8y ago
  > One is just a system on top of which to implement the other. We fundamentally disagree on this point. A continuous variable computer is more powerful than a digital one. I know error correction is tricky but I’m still convinced that the analog computer is superior.
  - 6nf 8y ago
    If analog computers are superior why is everything digital
    - adamnemecek 8y ago
      Around ww2 analog electric computers were pretty common however electricity suffers from something called rift, basically they get inaccurate over time. We developed digital computers as they fix the problem with rift. Photonics don’t suffer for rift so at some point we should revisit analog computing.
  - krastanov 8y ago
    This is an incredibly strong statement that virtually nobody in the field agrees with. 1. Continuous variable (in the context of quantum computing) is frequently different from "analog". See bosonic codes for instance. 2. We stopped using classical analog computers because they suffer from noise (which is a fundamental problem, not just a technical issue). Noise is even worse in the case of quantum computing (the claim you make in a sibling comment that some analog systems do not have that problem is wrong/unsupported by any evidence). 3. The main point of disconnect is that noise is a fundamental issue stemming from the laws of physics and computational complexity. There is a large body of evidence that shows that the existence of a scalable analog computer (classical or quantum) will break many structures in computational complexity. A hunch is not enough of an argument to counter those. Presenting a hunch like that is extremely misleading to the people who are trying to get into the field. 4. A hunch is certainly a good thing to research, but do not present it as something of equivalent value to established facts or empirically supported conjectures.
    - adamnemecek 8y ago
      1: imagine I put analog in quotation marks. 2: correct but that was electricity. Light still has that problem but less. 3: let’s get more concrete. Which particular papers do you have in mind? So what is all the continuous variable research about? > Presenting a hunch like that is extremely misleading to the people who are trying to get into the field. I’m sure that the number of people who get into the field based on my comment is 0.

jackfraser 8y ago

> on most HN posts about quantum computing somebody always mentions some misunderstood statement about continuous variables. Well, the D-Wave quantum computer seems to be functionally an analogue machine, so while you're limited to some variety of floating point precision when specifying the values for qubit and connection bias, it's certainly not 0 and 1 when it hits the hardware.