Several years ago, I gave a presentation on quantum computing to the Los Angeles Hacker News Meetup. The slides are at https://jimgarrison.org/quantumcomputingexplained/ . Unfortunately, there is no video recording so they are currently lacking explanations. My goal was to explain quantum computing in a way that is mathematically precise but doesn't require one to learn linear algebra first. To do this, I implemented a quantum computer simulator in Javascript that runs in the web browser. Conceptually (in mathematical language), in each simulation I present, I've started by enumerating…
I second that and pretty much anything else Feynman did. His lectures on quantum electrodynamics for the layman that later got put into his QED book are also excellent.
> How can you do intelligent philosophy about probability if you don't have a good detailed understanding of what probability is? There is more than one way to answer the question of 'what probability is'; you are advocating for an inductive approach where the general category is arrived at through exposure to particular instances; another approach is to work within a more general framework which expresses different types of probability theories as configurations of more general types. Granted, one must start inductively in order to get the general framework I speak of—but such frameworks…
> Curious what your thoughts are on exposing more people to theoretical physics sans popsci buzzword articles? It's a great thing to try to do; I try to do it myself as a contributor to Physics Forums [1], for example. I'm not sure how much good books like The Trouble With Physics actually do as far as exposing more people to physics sans popsci, because, while they might point out issues with how speculative research in physics is done, they don't actually teach any physics. I personally would recommend Feynman's books for the layman, such as QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter or…
Value is a wholly human created concept. If humans value it, then it is valuable. Yes, one could try to re-educate people about a "more true" view of the world using the theory of quantum mechanics. Then humans would value an exact copy (how would making the perfect copy ever be possible, really) the same as the original. You don't seem to be convincing even the more scientifically minded people here on HN, but good luck with you evangelicalism. Maybe a better way to get converts is to suggest people to read Richard Feynman's book "QED : The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" for a difficult…
Wrong on two levels: Our physical intuitions are Galilean, not classical, mechanics (that is, they are non-Newtonian). For example, our intuitions tell us that an object set in motion eventually slows down and stops. That's Galilean (also termed "folk physics" or "naive physics", usually by cognitive scientists). Most of us had to study formal physics to advance to Newtonian classical mechanics. Quantum mechanics (QM) is completely non-intuitive, at least as far as intuition about either folk physics or Newtonian classical physics is concerned. IIRC Feynmann says as much in his book "QED:…
Complexity is important when a subject at is core is complex, I'm mostly against complexity for the sake of complexity. Too many subjects are getting complex for the sake of it, or due to organic development. There is an even greater beauty than complexity when very complex subjects can be reduced to simpler ones without losing their power, it requires a greater understanding of complexity than what is usually seen. As an illustrative example : QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter, Feynman
special relativity: http://onestick.com/relativity general relativity: http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/II_42.html quantum electrodynamics: "QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" or http://vega.org.uk/video/subseries/8 standard model: http://quantumdiaries.org/2010/02/14/lets-draw-feynman-diaga... conceptual core of quantum mechanics: http://scottaaronson.com/democritus/lec9.html history of quantum mechanics: "The Second Creation" and "The Infinity Puzzle"
Favourite book: QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter - Richard Feynman
Feynmann's "QED: The Strange Theory of Light and Matter" is a popular science book which contains a small amount of approachable mathematics. It's a good choice if you want something a little more meaty.