Quantum Computing since Democritus
Cambridge University Press, 3/14/2013
EAN 9780521199568, ISBN10: 0521199565
Paperback, 404 pages, 22.8 x 15.2 x 2.6 cm
Language: English
Written by noted quantum computing theorist Scott Aaronson, this book takes readers on a tour through some of the deepest ideas of maths, computer science and physics. Full of insights, arguments and philosophical perspectives, the book covers an amazing array of topics. Beginning in antiquity with Democritus, it progresses through logic and set theory, computability and complexity theory, quantum computing, cryptography, the information content of quantum states and the interpretation of quantum mechanics. There are also extended discussions about time travel, Newcomb's Paradox, the anthropic principle and the views of Roger Penrose. Aaronson's informal style makes this fascinating book accessible to readers with scientific backgrounds, as well as students and researchers working in physics, computer science, mathematics and philosophy.
1. Atoms and the void
2. Sets
3. Gödel, Turing, and friends
4. Minds and machines
5. Paleocomplexity
6. P, NP, and friends
7. Randomness
8. Crypto
9. Quantum
10. Quantum computing
11. Penrose
12. Decoherence and hidden variables
13. Proofs
14. How big are quantum states?
15. Skepticism of quantum computing
16. Learning
17. Interactive proofs and more
18. Fun with the Anthropic Principle
19. Free will
20. Time travel
21. Cosmology and complexity
22. Ask me anything.
Advance praise: 'Scott Aaronson has written a beautiful and highly original synthesis of what we know about some of the most fundamental questions in science: what is information? What does it mean to compute? What is the nature of mind and of free will? Highly recommended.' Michael Nielsen, author of Reinventing Discovery