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"Quantum Country is a new kind of book. Its interface integrates powerful ideas from cognitive science to make memory a choice." What were the powerful ideas?

by sfg 6y ago

sgdpk 6y ago
Spaced repetition [1], they send you questions over increasing time periods to consolidate what you learned in the long term. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition
- sfg 6y ago
  Thank you.
- da39a3ee 6y ago
  Unfortunately the questions are utterly superficial and laughably different from the sort of thinking you need to do to understand how a 2-dimensional complex vector space is involved in quantum physics and quantum computing. I say that not as a physicist/mathematician looking down at the oiks trying to underastand this stuff, but as one of the oiks.
  - currymj 6y ago
    i tend to trust Nielsen on this one, who literally wrote the book on quantum computing and has spent years teaching it to people. his philosophy is that the biggest obstacle to understanding is memorization of basic concepts and notation.
  - acs5 6y ago
    You're right that the spaced repetition questions are different from the really interesting questions, but that's the point. They're supposed to be aids in internalising the "lower-level"/"boring" terms, definitions, properties, etc., which is necessary to be able to follow along.
  - kirrent 6y ago
    Of course they are. By design the flash cards are small atomic pieces of knowledge that can be answered simply. If the grand overarching concept is a web of interconnecting ideas, then the flashcards are supposed to help you maintain that by making sure you don't forget the small ideas the structure is made of. It's also by design that some of the questions are, as you say, laughably simple. It's to catch people who aren't properly engaging with the text as early as possible. Nielsen and Matuschak are sensible to these sorts of critiques. Quantum country is part experiment after all and they've been learning, adjusting, and experimenting with what works best. If you want a bit of context of where they've come from and where they want to go, I recommend this: https://numinous.productions/ttft/ https://numinous.productions/ttft/

"Quantum Country is a new kind of book. Its interface integrates powerful ideas from cognitive science to make memory a choice." What were the powerful ideas?

by sfg 6y ago

"Quantum Country is a new kind of book. Its interface integrates powerful ideas from cognitive science to make memory a choice." What were the powerful ideas?

sgdpk 6y ago

Spaced repetition [1], they send you questions over increasing time periods to consolidate what you learned in the long term. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaced_repetition

sfg 6y ago
Thank you.
da39a3ee 6y ago
Unfortunately the questions are utterly superficial and laughably different from the sort of thinking you need to do to understand how a 2-dimensional complex vector space is involved in quantum physics and quantum computing. I say that not as a physicist/mathematician looking down at the oiks trying to underastand this stuff, but as one of the oiks.
- currymj 6y ago
  i tend to trust Nielsen on this one, who literally wrote the book on quantum computing and has spent years teaching it to people. his philosophy is that the biggest obstacle to understanding is memorization of basic concepts and notation.
- acs5 6y ago
  You're right that the spaced repetition questions are different from the really interesting questions, but that's the point. They're supposed to be aids in internalising the "lower-level"/"boring" terms, definitions, properties, etc., which is necessary to be able to follow along.
- kirrent 6y ago
  Of course they are. By design the flash cards are small atomic pieces of knowledge that can be answered simply. If the grand overarching concept is a web of interconnecting ideas, then the flashcards are supposed to help you maintain that by making sure you don't forget the small ideas the structure is made of. It's also by design that some of the questions are, as you say, laughably simple. It's to catch people who aren't properly engaging with the text as early as possible. Nielsen and Matuschak are sensible to these sorts of critiques. Quantum country is part experiment after all and they've been learning, adjusting, and experimenting with what works best. If you want a bit of context of where they've come from and where they want to go, I recommend this: https://numinous.productions/ttft/ https://numinous.productions/ttft/