I guess I'm not the only person skeptical about quantum computing. The head of Darpa points out that analog computing doesn't scale well, and that's what quantum computers actually are.... [Thin Film Manufacturing: Katherine's Blog]
Just because Robert Leheny says that a quantum computer is an analog computer doesn't mean that it really is. A bold statement like that will require some proof to back it up, which will be all the harder bacause it isn't true.
The article quotes Leheny as saying ""What they do is to set up an equation, and let the quantum devices solve it over time. But that is an analog computer." But that's also an digital computer, so it's pretty much a non-statement. While quantum computing isn't a magic solution to all the worlds problems, it cannot be dismissed with out even examining its solution space. I have no buy-in for quantum computing and I think any application of it is way out there, but that does not mean I can prove that it's useless.
His claims that current fabrication technology is self-assembling are equally silly. Yes they are self-aligning to the tolerances of the process. But with tolerances on the order of the features themselves, you're lucky just to get anything to show up at all.
Dismissing "capable of something approaching human thought" lines aren't interesting any more, so they are left as an exercise for the reader. Here's a hint though: how much do we know about human thought?
9:46:35 AM 
Categories: Pushing rectangles... LiveJournal
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