How does quantum mechanics work? How can we use its counter intuitive laws to develop innovative technology? These were the two questions that I discussed in my talk on quantum computing at the Hay festival today.
When I asked my teachers in high school about quantum mechanics, I was told to attend weeks of lectures at university before they could start explaining me anything. At university, these weeks of lectures taught me which equations to solve to determine the energy of a hydrogen atom. It hardly helped to understand the basic (but problematic) concepts, such as quantum measurement, or the meaning of the wavefunction. To understand how something works, It should be brought back to simple terms and ideas that one can relate to their experience and see through their imagination.
This is what I tried to convey in my talk today. I don’t think that quantum mechanics is really that complicated at all. There is a lot that we don’t understand yet and a lot that blows your mind, but this makes it a fascinating subject.
It was an amazing experience as a PhD student to be able to talk to such a bright, interested and diverse audience. The questions at the end revolved around the impact that quantum computers will have on society. It was totally different from questions at academic conferences or outreach talks to high school students. I believe that these questions are the essential ones. In the end, the meaning of science is determined by the way that people use the insights that it gives us.
I love how the Hay festival brings so many different disciplines together. Now that I am done, I am looking forward to attend many of the other talks.