"Quantum computers can theoretically find the answers to problems no classical computer could ever solve"
This opening statement is simply false. Quantum Computers can easily be simulated on classical hardware, unfortunately with exponential Time and Space complexity overhead, in most interesting cases.
The introduction to any article needs to keep things easy to understand for all readers regardless of competency and familiarity with the topic.
While you are correct, classically solving a problem in a time measured in years is not useful or meaningful. So personally I would allow the article some creative wording to improve understanding in this case.
There are problems that can be solved by classical computers, but under current computing regimes the time needed to solve the problem requires longer than the current age of the universe. It's reasonable to say no classical computer can solve these problems. There are other problems that could take centuries - for all living humans, those solutions are irrelevant.
In fact, anything past 20 years of compute could be reasonably assessed to be impossible, practically speaking.
This isn't meant to be pedantic, simply to underline a class of compute intensive problems that are practically intractable with classic computing, even though technically possible.
If those intractable problems can be solved using quantum computers, we take another step on Kardashev's path to a type 1 civilization. Or another step closer to the great filter.
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[ 0.21 ms ] story [ 27.7 ms ] threadThis opening statement is simply false. Quantum Computers can easily be simulated on classical hardware, unfortunately with exponential Time and Space complexity overhead, in most interesting cases.
While you are correct, classically solving a problem in a time measured in years is not useful or meaningful. So personally I would allow the article some creative wording to improve understanding in this case.
In fact, anything past 20 years of compute could be reasonably assessed to be impossible, practically speaking.
This isn't meant to be pedantic, simply to underline a class of compute intensive problems that are practically intractable with classic computing, even though technically possible.
If those intractable problems can be solved using quantum computers, we take another step on Kardashev's path to a type 1 civilization. Or another step closer to the great filter.