positivemindset

While scientists have revealed the outline of quantum physics decades back, we continue to live in a predominantly linear world. And as time has passed by, the progress made by quantum physics has been so profound and far reaching but yet it is not incorporated into many of the current text books and common knowledge !

For example : it is now believed that an Electron can move as a particle or as a wave based on the whether it is being observed / interacted with. In the Double Slit experiment when not observed an electron passed like a wave in a random manner, however when observed it behaves like a particle and moves in a straight line.

In substance the physical world that we live in is a constantly changing, simultaneous and evolving phenomena : any linear snapshot of it shall always be a very narrow and incomplete explanation of the same. But now, we do have a tool in our hands which is quantum computing and it is excellent in simulating multiple scenarios helping us give a pathway to understanding how the building blocks of life interact or how the black holes store energy. And we can use this pathway to build a better world where we could improve the efficiency of solar panels from the current 20% to way higher levels, we can help solid state batteries store significantly better. In simple words it can help us create a new era of hardware that shall exponentially improve in line with the software.

Software has become exponentially faster thanks to increasing data processing speed of semiconductors. Today, we are able to process lot of data at a faster speed than ever envisaged. This has led to advent of AI and Machine Learning that are giving us faster solutions. And yet, at their core, these are based on traditional binary computers which think in terms of 0 and 1 combinations. These give us the answers to the questions based on existing data and understanding. So, essentially its a technology built on overlay of the existing Science of computing.

Herein particularly, we need to understand the difference between Science and Technology :

Science aims to understand the natural world by acquiring knowledge through observation and experimentation, explaining “why” things happen. Technology, on the other hand, applies that scientific knowledge to practical problems by designing and creating products, devices, and processes to solve human needs and answer the “how” of practical application

We have moved ahead so much in Technology by applying existing scientific knowledge to make things, products and stuff while the Science on which this technology is based has been upended.

The Science that is unravelling currently says that the quantum universe is more similar to a global conscious universe mentioned in the Upanishads and a theory like String Theory is a more befitting understanding of the world than antiquated concepts like the Big Bang Theory.

Quantum computing offers an opportunity for us to move back towards the Science of enquiry and simulate various scenarios of how electrons interact , of how it would change if we use sodium in greater proportion than lithium and of giving us simulations even before we make a physical prototype. And then the feedback curve from the physical prototype can be fed through Machine Learning to get more accurate simulations.

The possibilities are infinite and now we have tools available. The only restriction is human where we have to be open to new vistas and to multiple, simultaneous non-linear possibilities. A quantum computer stores data not only in data bits of 0 and 1 but in qubits that can exist as 0,1 or a superposition of both.

In other words, in the future we have to be open to be both a wave and a particle!