Month: November 2007

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Let This Quantum Computing Bastardization Pass?

In an article on stopping a large spectrum of light with metamaterials in The Telegraph (research which is very cool, but isn’t available online, yet, as far as I can tell), I find some lines that would make the Optimizer go bonkers:

By contrast, the switches in a quantum computer can be both “on” and “off” at the same time. A “qubit” could do two calculations at once, two qubits would do four and so on. Thus, it was theoretically possible to use quantum computers to explore vast numbers of potential solutions to a problem simultaneously.

Ouch, my brain hurts.
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To Every Ranking, Spin, Spin, Spin

This morning I received a funny email from a graduate student here at UW, Nicholas Murphy, which made me laugh out loud (reproduced and linkified here with permission from Nicholas):

Subject: Times Higher Education Supplement rankings: a study in spin
http://www.topmba.com/fileadmin/pdfs/2007_Top_200_Compact.pdf
For entertainment purposes, the same news story from different university publications:
Harvard:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=520741
Duke:
http://media.www.dukechronicle.com/media/storage/paper884/news/2007/11/13/News/Duke-Stays.13.In.Thes.Rankings-3096978.shtml
Yale:
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/22370
Stanford (I particularly enjoy the terse, annoyed tone here, especially given the first comment):
http://daily.stanford.edu/article/2007/11/13/briefStanfordRankingFallsFrom6thTo19th
BBC generally:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/7083292.stm

To which I will gleefully add my own spin: the west coast of the US gets no respect, damnit!

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I Am a Quantumist: Bring it On!

Tonight I watched NOVA’s Judgement Day: Intelligent Design On Trial. Ah shucks, us quantum physicists never get to have so much fun (err, I mean, experience so much pain and deal with so much silliness) trying to defend our science. It’s not like, you know, there aren’t people who think quantum theory is wrong or that quantum theory is somehow related to the Vedic teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. So why is it that quantum theory (which after all is “just a theory” wink, wink, nod, nod) doesn’t illicit courtroom battles of such epic scope as the Dover trial?
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Relative Nose Size Versus Time

Okay, there are some weird plots in science papers out there, but something about this one (which Pak at scirate.com pointed me to), taken from arXiv:0711.1751 “Paleontological Tests: Human-like Intelligence is not a Convergent Feature of Evolution,” by Charles H. Lineweaver made me laugh:

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Love Songs at a Football Game

Last night I went to the Seahawks/49ers game at Seattle’s spectacular Qwest field. While the field was spectacular, my SF 49ers were less than spectacular, losing the game 24-0. In fact they down right stunk. Ouch. Qwest field really is a rocking venue: I attended a game last year right after the league started investigating the Seahawks for pumping in noise over the speakers (which the team denied, and as far as I know no one has ever shown.) That game had the loudest crowd I have ever heard. Walking to the game from downtown Seattle you could hear the crowd from a huge distance away.
Last night’s game wasn’t quite as loud, but still the crowd was able to illicit multiple off-sides from the niners. More interestingly, and more disturbing I might add, I’m pretty sure the guy right behind me was yelling “I Love You!” throughout the second half whenever the crowd started making noise.
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Life-Size Quantum Computers

D-wave systems, whose paracomputer, err, I mean quantum-maybe computer, which sparked quite a bit of controversy earlier this year, is back in the news. This time D-wave is at the big superconducting conference (SC07) being held in Reno, Nevada and is demonstrating a 28-qubit quantum-maybe computer. Paint me an ivory tower skeptic, but I don’t think their system will work as they expect it to. Of course, this being, D-wave, the news article makes for some entertaining reading.
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Casting Computer Spells With My Hands

I’m fascinated by watching the developments in touch and movement based computer interfaces over the past few years. From the Apple iPhone to the Nintendo Wii, it seems that there is a great deal of excitement over these new interfaces. Nearly every week I see something interesting in this domain. Here, for example is a neat little video demoing how to do IR tracking with Nintendo Wii’s sensor and some IR reflecting tape on your fingers:

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Young Chemist?

Here is the story of a seven year old (supposed) prodigy whose parents are looking for a university which will enroll him. I always find it interesting in these stories that such an emphasis is put on degrees and tests. It also reminds me of my high school math teacher who told us he could teach his six year old son to do calculus.

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BTE Nomination: "Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC – Last Call for Predictions"

Many of you know I’m a big fan of funny/creative paper titles. What with journal editors squashing every last ounce of humanity our of scientific papers, it always makes me happy to see someone else fighting the editorial machine. Today a friend sends me “Heavy Ion Collisions at the LHC – Last Call for Predictions,” by S. Abreu et al arXiv:0711.0974 (scirate here.) which cracks me up.
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