Scott Aaronson, Leonid Grinberg, and Louis Wasserman’s “Worldview Manager” is now live at http://projects.csail.mit.edu/worldview/home. It seems that I am not in much conflict over quantum computing
So, damnit, I may be wrong, but at least I’m consistent (the hobgoblin of a little mind, mind you.) Via @cgranade and @mattleifer.
The Most Depressing Results in Physics
I’m a pretty optimistic guy. Okay, I’m a really optimistic guy. But even my optimism has its limits when bashing up against the cold hard reality of what experiments plus our understanding of the laws of physics tells us about the universe. Here are my top three most depressing facts about the universe coming from the field of physics and astronomy.
Continue reading “The Most Depressing Results in Physics”
Puzzle for the Day
How do you build a computer out of fire?
(Motivated by the observation that if you take three pieces of string and tie them together at a single point, you can make an OR gate. If we denote the presence of fire on a string as a 1 and the absence of fire as a 0, then this contraption clearly computes the OR function. But OR by itself is not universal.)
Time to PACS It Up and Go?
One of the highest “impact” journals in physics is the American Physical Society’s Physical Review Letters (PRL). Among the crazy things about PRL is that it limits letters to four pages. Yes, people from other fields, you heard that right: one of the most “prestigious” journals in physics limits the authors to four pages. Realistically, when you include references, a title, and an abstract, this really means more like less than three and a half pages. Crazy!
Recently looking over papers in PRL, however, it occurred to me that the editors are skewering us even more. That’s because a good two lines (two full lines, damnit!) are being used to denote PACS numbers and DOI
Center for Quantum Information and Control Postdocs
At least three postdoc positions at the University of New Mexico and the University of Arizona’s “Center for Quantum Information and Control.” Here is a pdf ad for the positions.
The Center for Quantum Information and Control (CQuIC) is seeking to hire at least three postdoctoral fellows over the next year. CQuIC has research nodes at the University of New Mexico (UNM) under Professors Carlton Caves and Ivan Deutsch and at the College of Optical Sciences of the University of Arizona (UA) under Professor Poul Jessen.
Research at CQuIC is focused on quantum information, quantum control, quantum
metrology, and quantum optics. The theoretical program at UNM addresses topics in all
of these areas. The experimental program at UA seeks to implement ideas from quantum
information and quantum control in laser-cooled neutral-atom systems. CQuIC postdocs
are expected to take an active interest in both theoretical and experimental projects at the
Center.
A successful applicant must have a PhD in physics, optical sciences, or a related discipline. Applicants should submit applications to cquic [change this to an at] unm.edu; the applicant should state whether he/she is applying for a theoretical postdoc at UNM or an experimental postdoc at UA. Applications should include a curriculum vitae and a statement of research accomplishments and plans, and the applicant should arrange to have three letters of recommendation submitted to the same e-mail address.
Applications will be processed as they are received. For full consideration in the first round of hiring, a complete application should be received by October 31, 2009. Applications will continue to be reviewed till all positions are filled.
Hm, experimental or theoretical postdocs in the southwest. Which one is red and which one is green?