Through my computer science “information is king” eyeglasses, there are really only two notions which thoroughly distinguish quantum theory from classical theories of how the world works: the nonlocal nature of quantum correlations as exemplified by Bell’s theorem and the much less well known contextual nature of quantum measurements as exemplified by the Bell-Kochen-Specker theorem. While the former is well known (and hence, to paraphrase Gell-Mann, what you’ve heard about it is mostly wrong), the later is less well known. Is that because it is a complicated idea? I don’t think so! Indeed I think you can learn what quantum contextuality means in less than ten minutes. Yep, it’s another edition of “explain quantum theory in ten minutes!”
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I Quantalk Because my Mouth is Full
Sam, after asking me for $100 dollars out of nowhere, points me to quantalk.org, a new slick website for, err, talking about quantum information. Seems to be a closed registration right now, so no talking by plebes is allowed, but it is slick! I hope it goes far, considering how little success I’ve had in my own endeavors into Science 2.0.
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Happenings in the Quantum World: January 16, 2007
Graphene quantum dots as qubits, Quantum Zeno effect, and the APS March meeting.
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Biblical Quantum Humor
What do you call a quantum computer built in the shape of a cubic lattice and containing 450000 qubits?
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Merry Quantum Christmas!
Merry Christmas! I don’t think this explanation for Santa delivering presents using quantum theory works. But it does bring up the question of whether Santa could get a quadratric speedup using quantum gift delivery?
Is Quantum Theory the Most Bastardized Theory of Physics?
Murray Gell-Mann always makes me laugh. Via Asymptotia here is what Murray said while giving a Ted talk:
I won’t go into a lot of stuff about quantum mechanics and what it’s like and so on…you’ve heard a lot of wrong things about it anyway!
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Happenings in the Quantum World: Dec. 4, 2007
SQuInT program and deadline, Rush Limbaugh on quantum cosmology, and the parallel worlds of Hugh Everett’s son
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Happenings in the Quantum World: Nov 21, 2007
Postdocs, APS GQI quantum newsletter, Quantum computing in Waikiki, quantum chicanery, quantum foods.
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Learn Quantum Theory in Ten Minutes
So you want to learn quantum theory in ten minutes? Well I certainly can’t give you the full theory in all its wonder and all its gory detail in that time, but I can give you a light version of the quantum theory in about that time. And won’t that impress your friends!
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States in the Morning, States in the Evening, States in the Afternoon
0711.0047: “Tunable quantum interference: How to make morning, noon, and afternoon states” by Holger F. Hofmann, Takafumi Ono. We can blame Jonathan Dowling?