greeneggs

60 ms·

541.
by greeneggs 15y ago
"Quality research is quality research - regardless of the results it garners." Not true. Research with a negative outcome is less valuable. It creates less knowledge, because there are many more negative statements you can say about how t
542.
by greeneggs 15y ago
It's an interface problem. In the real world, for example, I prefer ultimate frisbee to laser tag, but in a video game we can't simulate anything more than point and shoot.
543.
by greeneggs 15y ago
Basic quantum mechanics should be a high-school subject. The way physicists teach it currently, based on its historical development instead of on the modern understanding, is tragic. It just makes everyone repeat that nonsense quote, th
544.
by greeneggs 15y ago
You aren't going to get a self-sustaining colony on Mars for the cost of the Apollo program. Just getting a biosphere-level of sustainment would be several orders of magnitude more expensive. If "self-sustaining" is meant to mean an insur
545.
by greeneggs 15y ago
Except we can defend the earth from an asteroid for probably five orders of magnitude less money than establishing a self-sustaining colony somewhere else. And if self sustaining is all you need, setting up a self-sustaining colony a mile
546.
by greeneggs 15y ago
Furthermore, as technology and quality of life increases, risk tolerance decreases. I think this trend will continue. Historically, technology has increased fast and uniformly enough that we've still been able to do great things. But if
547.
by greeneggs 15y ago
The Technology Review article is confusing, but I can try to summarize. Quantum key distribution (QKD) promises security based on the laws of quantum physics, and not on computational assumptions. However, in practice, QKD experiments have
548.
by greeneggs 15y ago
Both standard quantum key distribution (QKD) and device-independent quantum key distribution schemes assume that the two parties share an authenticated classical channel. Without authentication, of course you cannot prevent man-in-the-midd
549.
by greeneggs 15y ago
This is good nationalism. If you start a myth that Americans are highly innovative and entrepreneurial, and that myth becomes embedded in the culture so everyone believes it, the result is that Americans are more entrepreneurial. If eve
550.
by greeneggs 15y ago
A bit more context: Stanford did not hire Virginia Williams, and she is looking for a job. Academic hiring in CS departments is driven by tweets. Hence the sensational blog post. /cynic (I do wish her luck.)
551.
by greeneggs 15y ago
"My understanding is that most people doing theoretical research in quantum computing don't need to have intuitive explanations for their results, since the calculations work themselves out." I don't believe this. Maybe your classical intu
552.
by greeneggs 15y ago
"AFAIU, Grover's algorithm is not really an algorithm of search of unstructured data, like phone book, but rather a quantum algorithm for inverting a function." Grover's search algorithm works both for inverting a function and for database
553.
by greeneggs 15y ago
Canada believes in allowing only a few, highly regulated banks. Since there are only a handful of banks, it makes it very easy to regulate them. But this model does hurt the little guys. Since Canadian banks form an oligopoly, they charge
554.
by greeneggs 15y ago
When it comes to basic science, this is not true at all. Gleaning numbers from Wikipedia, the Gates Foundation seems to spend roughly $300 million a year on research. HHMI (Howard Hughes Medical Institute) spends $450 million a year. In
555.
by greeneggs 15y ago
You can put it on your CV, although it is not important. Being a reviewer counts as "service" for your annual performance reviews, which is slightly more important. But most importantly, nobody wants to waste time reviewing mediocre paper
556.
by greeneggs 15y ago
This would not work. Reviewers would not feel comfortable being completely honest if they knew their reviews would be published publicly. In any case, there should be no need for the reviews to be public.