X-Message-Number: 16169
From: Transoniq <>
Subject: Abstractionists....
Date: Tue, 1 May 101 16:14:51 -0700 (PDT)

The April 6 *Science* had a review of *Quantum Computation and Quantum
Information* which contained a paragraph which might (hopefully) give the
Abstractionists pause:

  Jumping to chapter 12 ("Quantum information theory"), we find ourselves
  confronted by strange limits with respect to accessible information
  about quantum states. "Not only are quantum states impossible to copy,
  but they also cannot be perfectly distinguished." We are then led to
  contemplate reality. Although the description of the state, being
  classical, can be copied and distinguished at will, the actual referent
  of that description cannot. This is why a classical simulation of a
  quantum system, even if perfect in terms of the underlying equations,
  cannot substitute for the behavior of the real thing." In our
  scientific training we are always warned against mistaking a
  description of reality for the reality itself. Nevertheless, it comes
  as a surprise to see how technically relevant this warning can be.

Well, he probably would not have been surprised had he been on this
list...

Eric

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