Quantum computers: Pure fantasy

QUANTUM computing will never work. At least, that's the view of one physicist who thinks that unavoidable noise will always stand in its way.

So says Michael Dyakonov of the University of Montpellier in France. The link has a short article about the noise corrections needed will make quantum computers for any reasonable size (in bits) impossible due to noise.

Radioactive isotopes for sale

I can't make this stuff up.

Hat tip: Atlas Shrugs.

Self-Reference: How much is too much?

This paper has the first author cited 28 times in the references.

Hat tip: Mini-AIR

Open source science: Model for Innovation

In a perfect world, scientists share problems and work together on solutions for the good of society. In the real world, however, that's usually not the case. The main obstacles: competition for publication and intellectual property protection.

Is there a model for encouraging large-scale scientific problem solving? Yes, and it comes from an unexpected and unrelated corner of the universe: open source software development.

Sharing helps everyone to do better; if you don't believe it, ask a grade schooler. This turns out to be true in business as well. There was study not long ago (I don't have a link) that found the people who cooperate with others do better at work than people who keep their work private.

Images of the brain and universe

These aren't particularly new but I don't remember posting them. The first picture is a slice of tissue of the brain of a mouse. Note the fractal structure. Mark Miller from Brandeis did this.

The second picture is of a simulation of the beginning of the universe showing large cluster of galaxies surrounded by stars, galaxies and dark matter. Pretty amazing similarity, huh?

Bruce Schneier: Wrong on this one

I often read Bruce Schneier's blog because he covers topics in security and cryptography. His security ideas are often on target but miss the point. (He's concerned with the security devices and often fails to account for psychology and why people do what they do. More on that another time.) His posts on cyptography are another story. These are usually excellent and insightful. You should read these, but skip the security posts.

Tonight, I saw the following:

The Inherent Inaccuracy of Voting

In a New York Times op-ed, New York University sociology professor Dalton Conley points out that vote counting is inherently inaccurate:

The rub in these cases is that we could count and recount, we could examine every ballot four times over and we'd get -- you guessed it -- four different results. That's the nature of large numbers -- there is inherent measurement error. We'd like to think that there is a "true" answer out there, even if that answer is decided by a single vote. We so desire the certainty of thinking that there is an objective truth in elections and that a fair process will reveal it.

But even in an absolutely clean recount, there is not always a sure answer. Ever count out a large jar of pennies? And then do it again? And then have a friend do it? Do you always converge on a single number? Or do you usually just average the various results you come to? If you are like me, you probably settle on an average. The underlying notion is that each election, like those recounts of the penny jar, is more like a poll of some underlying voting population.

He's right, but it's more complicated than that.

That's a quote from Schneier's blog. I was mortified to see that Schneier agreed with Conley who obviously has no idea what he's talking about. If you have a jar of pennies you can count them exactly. The fact that the one counting may make mistakes is a fault of the process. To correct that, you need a better process.

Here's how one person put it in the comments:

I don't think that Dalton Conley has ever counted a large jar of pennies.

If your count doesn't converge on a single number, then you aren't doing it correctly. Clear a large flat surface. Create stacks of 10 pennies. Group the stacks of 10 by 10s. Collect the groups of 100 by 10. Check the stacks, check the groups, check the collections. Check again. Have your friend repeat the checks. Resolve any discrepancies.

This is accounting, not quantum physics. The pennies are all on the table in front of you and if you can't get an accurate accounting, you aren't trying hard enough.

This fellow, Ray, made me smile.

Astonomy Picture of the Day

I go to this site just about everyday. I don't always post their pictures, but oftentimes the pictures are too beautiful not to post. Here's one that I like:


From the site:

Three thousand light-years away, a dying star throws off shells of glowing gas. This image from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the Cat's Eye Nebula to be one of the most complex planetary nebulae known. In fact, the features seen in the Cat's Eye are so complex that astronomers suspect the bright central object may actually be a binary star system. The term planetary nebula, used to describe this general class of objects, is misleading. Although these objects may appear round and planet-like in small telescopes, high resolution images reveal them to be stars surrounded by cocoons of gas blown off in the late stages of stellar evolution.

You've got to admit, this is simply gorgeous. Ah, nature, where beauty is ever-present and ever delightful.

Heads UP!

What do you see? If you're my pal Andy you probably see an asteroid heading straight for planet Earth. Kiss yourself good-bye!

If you're not him, then maybe you see Janus, one of the moons of Saturn.

Janus orbits Saturn and sometimes trades places with its sister moon Epimetheus. Janus has a largest diameter of about 190 kilometers and while covered with large craters lacks small craters. One possible reason for this is a fine dust that might cover the small moon, a surface also hypothesized for Pandora and Telesto. Pictured above, Janus was captured in front of the cloud tops of Saturn in late September.

If you're like my pal though, you needn't worry. I'm sure we'll find a way to disrupt our lives without need for celestial malfeasance.

Experience at the Apple Store

My IPOD shuffle would not be recognized when I plugged it into a USB port on any computer I tried; I tried at least three times.

So, I finally took it to the Apple store yesterday in Bethesda, Maryland. The store is open and we walk in. It's a small store, most space is for product display. I walk to the back and see a fellow behind a counter and a line in front. I start to wait but see a screen with names. I infer there is some sort of sign up computer in the front. I wonder around and find a woman, in her fifties, with an apple shirt and she looks like an employee.

She: Can I help you?
Me: Yes, my ipod won't charge or be recognized when I plug it in.
She: Yes, I've seen that before.
Me: Can you fix it?
She: How long have you had it?
Me: I got it around Jan or Feb.
She: Oh, then it's still under warranty.

Me: Can you look at it and tell me if you can fix it?
She: Do you have an appointment?
Me: Well, no, do I need an appointment?
She: Yes, you do.
Me: Can't I just drop it off and whenever it's ready I can come back. I am already here, in person. It's not working so leaving it is fine with me.
She: No, you have to have an appointment.
Me: I can't drop it off?
She: No. You need an appointment and we're filled for today. It's like getting your car fixed, you have to have an appointment.

Me: Well, no I don't. There's a key drop and I can just drop my car off for repairs. Can't I do that here?
She: You must know the mechanic.

Me: pause....
She: Would you like me to help you make an appointment?
Me: Sure, that would be great.
She: Here. (She hands me a card.) Go to this website and you can make an appointment there.
Me: This is nuts. (I walk out.)

How Things Work Home Page

I stumbled across this link while using "Stumble Upon" when I was on the phone a few minutes ago. Here's a sample of the questions, you'll have to visit the site to get the answers.

1547. If I were to heat up a brownie and a white piece of cake, would the brownie heat up faster by radiation transfer because of its darker color? — B

1546. How can light "travel" through a vacuum when there were no "particles" in the vacuum on which it could "transmit" its charge? — DC

For my industrial design project, I am redesigning the microwave oven and adding some extra functions. Is it possible for microwaves to somehow measure food properties such as calories, sugar, salt, vitamins, and fat content? How can I translate those readings onto an LCD display so that the user can see them, and can they also be transferred to a computer via Bluetooth? — IB

1544. If something is coasting or moving at a steady pace, is it experiencing a net force of zero? — NP

1543. Can/should a microwave be disposed with the normal trash, what if any are the environmental impacts of the magnetron or other parts sitting in a landfill? — DNR

1542. Why do deep water wells need a pump at the bottom rather than one at the top? — LG, Vancouver