Comment Re:Decoherence! It simply won't work. (Score 1) 292
The current level of computing technology would not exist if it weren't for lesser computers helping to design the circuits and test new ideas. The current automobile industry couldn't exist without the infrastructure of previously-built (and presumably inferior) vehicles creating a more efficient means of transporting materials... and so on...
Similarly, I suspect that it will be necessary to build these simple quantum computers using today's "brute force" trial and error, which can then be used to solve some of the problems which are currently considered roadblocks in building large-scale quantum machines.
Your point about the money is a good one, though. I don't think I would have enough confidence in any given researcher, right now, to invest money with the expectation of any direct return. Hopefully companies like this D-Wave will lay enough of a foundation to build steps toward the real thing. Money "wasted" on yesterday's and today's failures could actually lead to future efficiency and productivity booms large enough to cover the losses. We'll see how it goes.
On an unrelated note, I noticed that there is a conspicuous lack of discussion of "quantum compression". Does such a thing exist? It seems that lossy compression of A/V media would be the perfect domain for the approximative techniques that have been mentioned...
Similarly, I suspect that it will be necessary to build these simple quantum computers using today's "brute force" trial and error, which can then be used to solve some of the problems which are currently considered roadblocks in building large-scale quantum machines.
Your point about the money is a good one, though. I don't think I would have enough confidence in any given researcher, right now, to invest money with the expectation of any direct return. Hopefully companies like this D-Wave will lay enough of a foundation to build steps toward the real thing. Money "wasted" on yesterday's and today's failures could actually lead to future efficiency and productivity booms large enough to cover the losses. We'll see how it goes.
On an unrelated note, I noticed that there is a conspicuous lack of discussion of "quantum compression". Does such a thing exist? It seems that lossy compression of A/V media would be the perfect domain for the approximative techniques that have been mentioned...
