[MD] Quantum computing

[david buchanan]

Case, Magnus and y'all:

dmb said to Case:
Jeez, I think math geeks and computer scientists should just stay the hell 
away from metaphors.

Magnus replied:
Nah, did you really think that through? Your daily work with a computer 
would look rather different - probably much harder - if it weren't for some 
computer scientists coming up with the desktop metaphor.

dmb says:
Yes, I have thought it through and in fact I specifically had desktop 
metaphors in mind. This is the worst of the worst. I'm convinced that 
computer lingo was mostly invented by autistic dudes who relate to machines 
a lot more than to people. Silicon Valley desperately needs some English 
majors.

Magnus:
But I agree about metaphysics. The ontology of a metaphysics shouldn't be 
defined as "looking like" something else, it must be very precisely defined 
otherwise it breaks down once you start using it.

dmb says:
Good point. But there is also a very real sense in which analogies can be 
right or wrong. We've all encountered them on standardized tests. Metaphors 
are a little more complicated, but these too can be misleading or helpful, 
good or bad. In this case, of course, the debate is not just about which 
image we like best. It about the best way to imagine a complex abstract 
concept, namely the evolution of everything, of the universe. As you know, 
I'm saying concentric circles present a picture of the whole with nothing 
outside while the tree fails because it requires an enviroment in which to 
grow, suggesting that the universe expands within another universe outside 
itself. This simply defies the meaning of the word "universe". It suggests 
there is a pre-existing space in which space exists and that's just goofy. 
Thus the metaphor just doesn't work.

Did you notice how Case had to pretend I was making an argument for a 
staircase or a ladder in order avoid this point? Why? Because staircases and 
ladders also need a pre-existing enviroment and so the switch inserts the 
same mistake we find with trees. These are all flawed for the same reason 
but the concentric circles rightly suggest no such externals.

dmb

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