

Ask HN: Quantum Computers - the Future? - dhammack

As a high school senior starting college next semester, I'm doing a lot of looking forward for careers that will explode in numbers and usefulness. Quantum computing seems, to me, like it will dramatically change the world in the next 10-20 years, much like the PC revolution did. Am I  wrong in this assumption? Would it be unwise to major in something as specific as computer engineering and quantum physics?
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gexla
Mobile will dramatically change the world because smart phones will be the
first computer which billions of people around the world will own. It's
largely just getting started because prices for entry level smart phones are
dropping but still not quite cheap enough that they are within the reach of
most people. This trend will be interesting for quite a long time and game
changing apps will be both global and local. In other words, an app which is
highly beneficial for farmers in x region of Africa may be unhelpful to
farmers in x region of S. America because of differences in language, culture
and the ways in which these economies run in each of these regions.

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xtx23
Don't think you'd be required to know everything about quantum physics to
program a quantum computer, just like you aren't required to be a electrical
engineer to be a decent programmer. But if you are talking about a lifelong
contribution to research, and you are going for a PHD then there is nothing
unwise about that.

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dhammack
Someone will build the first quantum computer. I highly suspect that that
person will also have to have a strong knowledge of quantum physics. Either
way, it seems like a promising career field unless the theory for a quantum
computer suddenly becomes impossible (which doesn't seem to be the case).

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mmozeiko
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