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 had an aha moment with quantum computers a few months ago when reading an article that explained it as probability distributions. I don't think I have the complete understanding in my mind anymore and I wish I had saved the article, but looking into how quantum computers essentially serve as probability distribution crunching machines might help with your understanding.

>>Khoome+mt
So can they still do traditional deterministic(?) calculations? Or would that be somewhat akin to using machine learning to do your taxes; possible but just overkill?

I've often heard it said that Quantum Computers can crack cryptographic keys by trying all the possible inputs for a hashing algorithm or something handwavey like that. Are they just spitting out "probable" solutions then? Do you still have to try a handful of the solutions manually just to see which one works?

>>arkanc+Au
Yeah, they can do deterministic calculations. You just avoid ever putting the quibits in a state where measurement gives probabilistic results. it would, however, be a ridiculous use of technology, like using a Neural net to simulate an XOR