zlacker

>>qqqqqu+(OP)
Quantum Computers. Not like I'm five, but like I'm a software engineer who has a pretty decent understanding of how a classical turing machine works. I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say "qubits are like bits except they don't have to be just 1 or 0" without providing any coherent explanation of how that's useful. I've also heard that they can try every possible solution to a problem. What I don't understand is how a programmer is supposed to determine the correct solution when their computer is out in some crazy multiverse. I guess what I want is some pseudo code for quantum software.

>>arkanc+ps
I recommend Computerphile's videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzg3FkRs7fcRJLgCmpy3o....

I had the same "problem" as you. What finally made me feel I sort of cracked it was those videos. The way I think of it now is: They let you do matrix multiplication. The internal state of the computer is the matrix, and the input is a vector, where each element is represented by a qubit. The elements can have any value 0 to 1, but in the output vector of the multiplication, they are collapsed into 0 or 1. You then run it many times to get statistical data on the output to be able to pinpoint the output values more closely.

>>elgfar+gu
I don't know if it's accurate (because I never understand anything I read about it) but this is the most concise and clear explanation I've read on this subject to date. Thank you!

>>ad404b+Tx
It's accurate. QC is just linear algebra with complex numbers, plus probability extended to the complex domain. Why that's useful is something I'm still struggling with as well.

>>dreamc+sT
I'd assume it's the speed advantage, but the only problem I can think of that would require that type of exponential speed is cracking hashing algorithms which just seems destructive and counterproductive, like building a digital nuclear bomb - and from my very limited understanding that's a long ways off from being achieved.

I assume there's probably many more complex computational problems outside of my domain that QC can help with. Does anybody know of any?

>>sodafo+DX
Aside from Shor's, the other is Grover's algorithm which deals with search in an unstructured database. There are more and more superpolynomial speedups which have been discovered in application of QC. A good enumeration of these is the quantum algorithm zoo.

https://quantumalgorithmzoo.org/