There seems to be a general misunderstanding of what quantum computers are capable of in the public mind, or at least that slice of it that is even aware of qua

There seems to be a general misunderstanding of what quantum computers are capable of in the public mind, or at least that slice of it that is even aware of quantum computers' existence. I was just reading Hominids by Robert J Sawyer and it involves a quantum computer. He describes how it 'checks every possible answer simultaneously' to find the prime factors of a number instantaneously...which of course is not how Shor's algorithm actually works.