I see where you're coming from, jessriedel, but I must respectfully disagree with the assertion that "real physical quantum computers exist." In the common parl

I see where you're coming from, jessriedel, but I must respectfully disagree with the assertion that "real physical quantum computers exist." In the common parlance, a "computer" is a device that can perform a set of operations or computations independently following programmed instructions. For a "real physical quantum computer" to exist by this definition, it should be able to carry out such operations using quantum phenomena, without any reliance on classical computing architecture for function, error correction, or result verification. What we currently have in the field of quantum computing doesn't fit this bill. The quantum systems we have today are not independent "computers" but rather more like "classical computers conducting quantum experiments." They're akin to people playing an MMO and running an imaginary computational architecture that only exists within the confines of the game rules. In this sense, they're creating and operating within an entirely simulated environment. This isn't to diminish the value of the research being conducted or the strides that are being made. But I would argue that the statement "real physical quantum computers exist" is, at this stage, a significant overreach. We may have precursors or tools that can manipulate quantum phenomena in interesting ways, but we're still a considerable distance from having an operational, standalone quantum computer in the full sense of the term.