Category: Fragment

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Quantum Missile Command

My new favorite quantum hyperbole:

Handed to generals, a quantum computer might transform an ordinary nation into an instant superpower. Dozens of incoming missiles could be tracked at once.

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Pontiff and Evolution

That other Pontiff has declared that he “believes in evolution.” Am I the only one who read “[reclaim] a dimension of reason we have lost” and thought of string theory? (That’s a joke peoples, so don’t get your stringy hair in an uproar!)

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Why I Loved Caltech

From an article in today’s New York Times on college admissions:

But with more and more students filling out ever more applications, schools like the California Institute of Technology received a record number of applications this year — 3,595, or 8 percent more than last year — and admitted 576 students. Among so many talented applicants, a prospective student with perfect SAT scores was not unusual, said Jill Perry, a Caltech spokeswoman.
“The successful students have to have shown some passion for science and technology in high school or their personal life,” Ms. Perry said. “That means creating a computer system for your high school, or taking a tractor apart and putting it back together.”

I’m imagining a box on the Caltech application which says “Check here if you have ever taken a tractor apart and put it back together.” 🙂

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Taxing Fools

This time of year always reminds me of the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm effect.
Whah? Well it’s due entirely to this colloquium on the non-abelian Aharonov-Bohm effect given by John Preskill:

This talk was originally schedule for April 1st. I was delighted. I’ve always wanted to give a talk on April 1st, and this subject seemed like the ideal one for that date. Then, in a stunning reversal, the talk was rescheduled for April 15th. I was shocked. Suddently, instead of speaking on the funniest day of the year, I was speaking on the least funny day of the year. I know that everyone is in a somber mood on April 15th, so I have decided that there will be no jokes in this talk. I’m sorry. I hope that you don’t find the talk to be overly taxing.

Classic! The closest I’ve ever come to giving a talk on a holiday was when I gave a talk here at UW on Valentines day. I’m still disappointed that I didn’t have enough jokes about the day. I’m sure my audience would have loved it.