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$100,000 Prize: Prove Quantum Computers Impossible

Posted by Soulskill on from the simultaneously-yes-and-no dept.

mikejuk writes "Quantum computing is currently a major area of research — but is this all a waste of effort? Now Scott Aaronson, a well-known MIT computer scientist, has offered a prize of $100,000 for any proof that quantum computers are impossible: 'I'm now offering a US$100,000 award for a demonstration, convincing to me, that scalable quantum computing is impossible in the physical world.' Notice the two important conditions — 'physical world' and 'scalable.' The proof doesn't have to rule out tiny 'toy' quantum computers, only those that could do any useful work."

8 of 324 comments (clear)

  1. Easy, since it's the U.S. by tomhudson · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just point a gun at his head and ask him "Convinced?"

    1. Re:Easy, since it's the U.S. by Haven · · Score: 5, Funny

      Just point a gun at his head and ask him "Convinced?"

      This is the most concise explanation of a quantum computer I have ever read.

  2. The jokes on them by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I will prove Quantum Computers both possible AND impossible at the SAME TIME!

    1. Re:The jokes on them by maxwell+demon · · Score: 5, Funny

      Yeah, and you'll both get and not get the money at the same time. However don't complain if you find out that you didn't get it: It was you looking which caused the superposition to collapse into that state.

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  3. You can't prove a negative by funwithBSD · · Score: 5, Funny

    So I guess the proof would be that they do exist, but only if you don't observe one.

    --
    Never answer an anonymous letter. - Yogi Berra
  4. Quantum Mechanics by pacija · · Score: 1, Funny

    I know a man (my father actually) who wrote (unreleased) book in Serbian in which he claims (and proves with numbers) that Quantum Mechanics and Theory of Relativity are mostly untrue.

  5. Like the cat by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    He will be alive and dead at the same time.

  6. Re:Proving something negative is impossible by Jason1729 · · Score: 1, Funny

    One can prove, without leaving room for doubt, that the halting problem is undecidable,

    A really ignorant programming teacher at a local community collage her has found a way to decide the halting problem. A student asked her what sort of things you could validate with an asp.net validator. She said anything. He gave an example of a halting problem and she said yes.

    In the words of one of her colleagues, "she's as dumb as a brick", so if she can decide the halting problem, can't someone smarter come up with a general solution?