![]() In truth, anything that a QC can calculate, a classical computer can calculate as well, given exponentially more time: for example, by representing the entire wavefunction, all 2 n amplitudes, to whatever accuracy is needed. OK, so here Kaku has already perpetuated two of the most basic, forehead-banging errors about what quantum computers can do. A quantum computer, however, simultaneously analyzes all possible paths at the same time, with lightning speed. For example, when tediously computing the paths taken by a mouse in a maze, a digital computer has to painfully analyze each possible path, one after the other. Digital computers can only compute on digital tape, consisting of a series of 0s and 1s, which are too crude to describe the delicate waves of electrons dancing deep inside a molecule. For example, digital computers can never accurately calculate how atoms combine to create crucial chemical reactions, especially those that make life possible. are a new type of computer that can tackle problems that digital computers can never solve, even with an infinite amount of time. But to repeat the “10,000 years” figure at this point, with no qualifications, is actively misleading. I’d be the first to stress that the situation is complicated compared to the best currently-known classical algorithms, some quantum advantage remains for the Random Circuit Sampling task, depending on how you measure it. ![]() ![]() No, the “10,000 years” estimate was quickly falsified, as anyone following the subject knows. Google revealed that their Sycamore quantum computer could solve a mathematical problem in 200 seconds that would take 10,000 years on the world’s fastest supercomputer. Where to begin? Should we just go through the first chapter with a red pen? OK then: on the very first page, Kaku writes, Who knows, maybe this post will show up in the first page of Google results for Kaku’s book, and it will manage to rescue two or three people from the kindergarten of lies. Well, as the accidental #1 quantum computing blogger on the planet, I feel a sort of grim obligation here. Conversely, the book’s target readers have probably never visited a blog like this one and never will. Among people who’ve heard of this blog, I expect that approximately zero would be tempted to buy Kaku’s book, at least if they flipped through a few random pages and saw the … level of care that went into them. So I can now state with confidence: beating out a crowded field, this is the worst book about quantum computing, for some definition of the word “about,” that I’ve ever encountered.Īdmittedly, it’s not obvious why I’m reviewing the book here at all. In the spirit, perhaps, of the TikTokkers who eat live cockroaches or whatever to satisfy their viewers, I decided to oblige loyal Shtetl-Optimized fans by buying Quantum Supremacy and reading it. (Incidentally, to those who’ve asked why Joe Rogan hasn’t invited me on his show to explain quantum computing: I guess you now have an answer of sorts!) He even appeared on Joe Rogan a couple weeks ago to promote the book, surely reaching an orders-of-magnitude larger audience than I have in two decades of trying to explain quantum computing to non-experts. Now Kaku has a new bestseller about quantum computing, creatively entitled Quantum Supremacy. ![]() In the decades since, Kaku has widened his ambit to, well, pretty much everything, regularly churning out popular books with subtitles like “How Science Will Revolutionize the 21st Century” and “How Science Will Shape Human Destiny and Our Daily Lives.” He’s also appeared on countless TV specials, in many cases to argue that UFOs likely contain extraterrestrial visitors. I’m sure I’d have plenty of criticisms if I reread it today, but at the time, I liked it a lot. When I was a teenager, I enjoyed reading Hyperspace, an early popularization of string theory by the theoretical physicist Michio Kaku. Luckily, the character and I do share many common views I’m sure we’d hit it off if we met. The writer appears to be physics/math blogger and podcaster Hassaan Saleem see his website here. Update (June 6): I wish to clarify that I did not write any of the dialogue for the “Scott Aaronson” character who refutes Michio Kaku’s quantum computing hype in this YouTube video, which uses an AI recreation of my voice. ![]()
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