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Author Topic: [2016-08-18]Gregory Maxwell: “Vitalik Buterin Ran A Quantum Computer Scam”  (Read 903 times)
BTCBinary (OP)
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August 18, 2016, 12:50:26 PM
 #1

Gregory Maxwell: “Vitalik Buterin Ran A Quantum Computer Scam”

Being a public figure in the cryptocurrency world comes with prestige and personal attacks. Vitalik Buterin, the visionary of Ethereum development and coding genius, has been active in the world of technology for quite some time now. Before he even created Ethereum, however, he was working on building a computer program to solve NP-complete problems. Or as some people would like to call it, vaporware...

http://www.newsbtc.com/2016/08/17/gregory-maxwell-vitalik-buterin-ran-quantum-computer-scam/
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August 18, 2016, 07:04:05 PM
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Money quote from Maxwell:

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“Vitalik’s project immediately before Ethereum is that he was collecting investments from people to fund building a computer program to solve NP-complete problems in polynomial time, supposedly by simulating a quantum computer. (Never mind that even real QC aren’t conjectured to be able to do that, nor does ‘simulation’ make any sense; unless BPP == BQP that’s not even possible, and virtually all experts agree the complexity classes are probably not equivalent). He built up a reputation for himself writing tech explainers of other people’s ideas usually without any attribution (until someone complains), making him look like the author.”

How in the living fuck do you 'simulate' quantum processing? I'm not an advanced maths kind of guy, but I've been following the tech surrounding Qbits and how rudimentary quantum machines are right now. Trying to encapsulate such a property in software seems like an impossibility without using actual quantum elements to do it. Maxwell has it covered, but this whole story makes me wonder if Vitalik is just an advanced huckster moving on to the next shiny bauble in search of money.

Ethereum is a train wreck, and aside from being infinitely exploitable, is now fractured between two camps and even its purported uses are up for debate. Especially after the "code is law, until we decide it isn't and hard-fork" debacle.

Steer clear of his projects, is all I can say.

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August 19, 2016, 02:44:52 AM
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How in the living fuck do you 'simulate' quantum processing?
Short answer: Very slowly. Long answer: Since the wave function of a quantum system is really just an ordinary mathematical function, it can be calculated by traditional methods. This is very useful for designing quantum computers and algorithms, but not useful at all for actually solving quantum-computable problems, due to the aforementioned slowness, which gets exponentially worse the more complex the simulated system is.

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August 19, 2016, 04:34:00 PM
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How in the living fuck do you 'simulate' quantum processing?
Short answer: Very slowly. Long answer: Since the wave function of a quantum system is really just an ordinary mathematical function, it can be calculated by traditional methods. This is very useful for designing quantum computers and algorithms, but not useful at all for actually solving quantum-computable problems, due to the aforementioned slowness, which gets exponentially worse the more complex the simulated system is.

So again, that is my question - how do you even think a viable quantum computing approach can be achieved in software? Its absurd, attacking NP problems in polynomial time? Get the fuck outta here.

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August 19, 2016, 07:56:26 PM
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That story doesn't say if the investors in Vitalik's quantum computer "scheme" were reimbursed when he dropped it, or if he permanently dropped it. If they didn't get their money back, and he promised a finished product but dropped the project, then he scammed them.
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August 20, 2016, 02:23:46 AM
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Its absurd, attacking NP problems in polynomial time?
Yes, it's absurd. That's what I just said using different words.

So again, that is my question - how do you even think a viable quantum computing approach can be achieved in software?
I don't think that. I was pointing out that simulated quantum computing is a real thing (contrary to your claim that it's impossible), and that it doesn't do what Vitalik says it does at all. I thought I was clear in my post exactly what it is and isn't a viable approach for.

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