this post was submitted on 10 Dec 2024
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There's a dime stuck in the road behind our local store, tails side up, for over 15 years. And that doesn't even need error correction.
Why does it sound like technology is going backwards more and more each day?
Someone please explain to me how anything implementing error correction is even useful if it only lasts about an hour?
Because quantum physics. A qubit isn't 0 or 1, it's both and everything in between. You get a result as a distribution, not as distinct values.
Qubits are represented as (for example) quantumly entangled electron spins. And due to the nature of quantum physics, they are not very stable, and you cannot measure a value without influencing it.
Granted, my knowledge of quantum computing is very hand-wavy.
I do get that, yes it's more complicated than I can fully wrap my brain around as well. But it also starts to beg the question, how many billions of dollars does it take to reinvent the abacus?
Again, I realize there's a bit of a stark difference between the technologies, but when does the pursuit of over-complicated technology stop being worth it?
Shit, look at how much energy these AI datacenters consume, enough to power a city or more. Look at how much money is getting pumped into these projects..
Ask the AI how to deal with the energy crisis, I'll only believe it's actually intelligent when it answers "Shut me and all the other AI datacenters off, and recycle our parts for actual useful purposes."
Blowing billions on quantum computing ain't helping feed, clothe and house the homeless...
But this is not just any abacus, it's one that calculates all the results at once. That is a disruptive leap forward in computing power.