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Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

thehill.com

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Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#92
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a peculiarity of the US system that decisions by the federal bureaucracy tend to be attributed to one person. You can be relatively confident that Donald Trump has no idea what a quantum computer is.

Do you also consider it a peculiarity that all failures of the federal government are attributed to the president? Example: "Trump sent militia to Portland to put protesters into unmarked vans.". Or is this attribution a worry only when something good happens?

The popular suggestion - with regard to your specific example - is that the president himself is directly supporting those federal actions in Portland (against the wishes of state leadership and law enforcement) because appearing strong on crime is politically beneficial for his re-election. There is no other reason for those officers to be present, refuse to wear uniforms, or use civilian vehicles. The

But then, I’m sure you’re fully aware of this and are just making hay.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#93
post #54

Someone needs to invest in developing improved mental models for quantum computers. Much of the development of classical computing (particular from a user perspective) was driven by metaphors: memory, stacks, pipes, files, folders, etc. What are useful metaphors in the application or use of quantum computers?

Quantum computers are modeled with extremely basic linear algebra. Quantum states are vectors and gates are matrices which multiply those vectors to get new vectors. How much simpler do you want? You can explain most of it as rotations around the unit circle which we all learn in high school or earlier. The problem is pop science crap that tries to explain superposition and entanglement with complete word salad inste…

Do you know how pretentious this sounds? Not everyone outside the HN tech bubble has any idea what those words mean.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

One does not simply get into $26T in debt without a whole lot of agreement from both sides of the aisle. To view any side as pure is to be a pawn in the overton window.

Why was this comment killed? It was just about the only sane comment in this thread.

I'm not sure what the mechanism is (i.e. karma threshold or moderation) but it looks like all the account's comments are dead by default and have been for a very long time.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#96

This appears to be a surprisingly level-headed government initiative. The amount is enough to do something but not so much as to be a colossal boondoggle. It's the sort of fundamental research which private industry tends to under-produce because it's hard for any given company to recoup the full value of the R&D, but the target area is something with potential downstream practical implications. > bipartisan Also by…

Wonder if Peter Thiel had a hand in it.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#97
post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Quantum computers are modeled with extremely basic linear algebra. Quantum states are vectors and gates are matrices which multiply those vectors to get new vectors. How much simpler do you want? You can explain most of it as rotations around the unit circle which we all learn in high school or earlier. The problem is pop science crap that tries to explain superposition and entanglement with complete word salad inste…

Do you know how pretentious this sounds? Not everyone outside the HN tech bubble has any idea what those words mean.

Most advantages that quantum computing has aren't practical for most people outside "the HN tech bubble". It's meant for specialized types of high throughput computations.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#98

I can't tell if this number is large or small. However, all research institutions take a cut of grant money in what is usually called "Facilities and Administration" cost. My undergrad rate was 50% of the proposed sum. Obviously the exact rate varies, but the fee remains. Ex. If a professor is writes a proposal for 1M. When the funding agency awards it they tack on another 1M for the institution. This is why "expensi…

That seems like a perverse incentive.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>preceded by the words lack of or similar. Eh, bipartisan stuff still happens. Look at the military industrial complex. Expanding executive power, expanding the surveillance state. Pro wall street regulation repeal. Usually its to screw us

Viewed through that lens perhaps this initiative is to help push quantum computing to a place where it can break modern encryption.

Cynical me figured there wasn't much other purpose for those approving funding.

Re: Trump administration establishes $75M quantum computing centers

#100

This appears to be a surprisingly level-headed government initiative. The amount is enough to do something but not so much as to be a colossal boondoggle. It's the sort of fundamental research which private industry tends to under-produce because it's hard for any given company to recoup the full value of the R&D, but the target area is something with potential downstream practical implications. > bipartisan Also by…

>preceded by the words lack of or similar. Eh, bipartisan stuff still happens. Look at the military industrial complex. Expanding executive power, expanding the surveillance state. Pro wall street regulation repeal. Usually its to screw us

While the media paints a different picture, bills sanctioning and restricting China have also been getting through which also means bi-partisan support despite the election rhetoric.
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