Feb 25, 2025 06:42 PM
The philosophy behind the recent quantum chip breakthrough
https://iai.tv/articles/the-philosophy-b..._auid=2020
INTRO: Microsoft recently announced a breakthrough in quantum computing, based on a new phase of matter that experts had not thought possible. The philosophical implications of this breakthrough are profound. Quantum researcher at Bristol University, Shuqiu Wang, examines the science behind the technology, highlighting the challenges for our philosophical understanding of reality and the scientific implications for the future of technology.
EXCERPTS: In a recent announcement, Microsoft claims to have created the first 'topological qubits' based on topological superconductors. [...] This research raises intriguing questions about the nature of reality and our technological future. Topology urges us to reconsider our understanding of space itself. When quantum states exist in superpositions across space, and when the connectivity of space becomes more fundamental than distance, our everyday concepts of location and separation begin to break down. These discoveries suggest that space at the quantum level may be fundamentally relational, defined by connectivity rather than fixed coordinates... (MORE - details)
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(related) Physicists question Microsoft’s quantum claim
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolog...r-AA1zxPzn
EXCERPTS: Microsoft’s announcement of a quantum-computing breakthrough generated a wave of excitement this week—but physicists who have reviewed the work say they aren’t convinced of the finding. [...] the research was preliminary and not conclusive evidence that this advance has been achieved, according to a physicist who attended the meeting. The Nature paper wasn’t intended to show proof of the particles, according to Chetan Nayak, corporate vice president for quantum hardware at Microsoft and a co-author of the paper. But, he said, the measurements they included indicated they were “95% likely” to indicate topological activity... (MORE - details)
The Three Styles of Curiosity
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article..._curiosity
EXCERPT: Curiosity is a strong desire to learn or know something. But according to researcher Perry Zurn, curiosity is not a singular thing. In fact, there may be at least three styles of curiosity that could have different benefits for our well-being and for the societies we live in. In 2019, Zurn analyzed classical texts from the history of philosophy to study the nature of curiosity. Searching for mentions of curiosity in writings by philosophers from Saint Augustine to Friedrich Nietzsche to Jacques Derrida, he uncovered three different models of curiosity... (MORE - details)
https://iai.tv/articles/the-philosophy-b..._auid=2020
INTRO: Microsoft recently announced a breakthrough in quantum computing, based on a new phase of matter that experts had not thought possible. The philosophical implications of this breakthrough are profound. Quantum researcher at Bristol University, Shuqiu Wang, examines the science behind the technology, highlighting the challenges for our philosophical understanding of reality and the scientific implications for the future of technology.
EXCERPTS: In a recent announcement, Microsoft claims to have created the first 'topological qubits' based on topological superconductors. [...] This research raises intriguing questions about the nature of reality and our technological future. Topology urges us to reconsider our understanding of space itself. When quantum states exist in superpositions across space, and when the connectivity of space becomes more fundamental than distance, our everyday concepts of location and separation begin to break down. These discoveries suggest that space at the quantum level may be fundamentally relational, defined by connectivity rather than fixed coordinates... (MORE - details)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - -
(related) Physicists question Microsoft’s quantum claim
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technolog...r-AA1zxPzn
EXCERPTS: Microsoft’s announcement of a quantum-computing breakthrough generated a wave of excitement this week—but physicists who have reviewed the work say they aren’t convinced of the finding. [...] the research was preliminary and not conclusive evidence that this advance has been achieved, according to a physicist who attended the meeting. The Nature paper wasn’t intended to show proof of the particles, according to Chetan Nayak, corporate vice president for quantum hardware at Microsoft and a co-author of the paper. But, he said, the measurements they included indicated they were “95% likely” to indicate topological activity... (MORE - details)
The Three Styles of Curiosity
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article..._curiosity
EXCERPT: Curiosity is a strong desire to learn or know something. But according to researcher Perry Zurn, curiosity is not a singular thing. In fact, there may be at least three styles of curiosity that could have different benefits for our well-being and for the societies we live in. In 2019, Zurn analyzed classical texts from the history of philosophy to study the nature of curiosity. Searching for mentions of curiosity in writings by philosophers from Saint Augustine to Friedrich Nietzsche to Jacques Derrida, he uncovered three different models of curiosity... (MORE - details)