NASA gets itself a quantum computer. What are their plans?
"According to physicist David Deutsch, a quantum system can work on a
million computations at once while a standard desktop PC works on just
one. Put another way, a 30-qubit system would be equal in processing
power to a traditional 10 teraflop machine, which crunches trillions of
operations each second.
These computers will help us find the most expedient solution to a
complex problem. As such, they're poised to revolutionize the way we go
about data analysis and optimization — including such realms as air
traffic control, courier routing, protein modeling, weather prediction,
database querying, and hacking tough encryption schemes."
Read the
rest.
(via
IO9)
A Neuroscientist's Radical Theory of How Networks become Consciousness
"It’s a question that’s perplexed philosophers for centuries and
scientists for decades: Where does consciousness come from? We know it
exists, at least in ourselves. But how it arises from chemistry and
electricity in our brains is an unsolved mystery.
Neuroscientist Christof Koch, chief scientific officer at the
Allen Institute for Brain Science,
thinks he might know the answer. According to Koch, consciousness
arises within any sufficiently complex, information-processing system.
All animals, from humans on down to earthworms, are conscious; even the
internet could be. That’s just the way the universe works."
Read the rest on
Wired.com
(via
Grahamhancock.com)
