Quantum computing for fun and profit
Jul. 18th, 2012 09:22 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
alias_sqbrThe Quantum Computing Coursera course I signed up for just started, and it's fun so far. It feels more like that intersection between theoretical computer science and pure mathematics that I love instead of the more real world (ug) focus of the quantum mechanics I learned when I was doing physics.
The lecturer is pretty good, unfortunately the first assignment is not very well written and the multiple choice format is not well suited to someone like me who is good at theory but makes silly numerical mistakes. On the plus side you can take it multiple times with a 10% penalty, and I went from 26/60 the first time to 60/60 the second. Alas this was partly due to getting a feel for the kind of answer that would be right rather than entirely understanding why the answers were right, but hopefully this will improve as the course goes on, and it's not like I'll actually suffer any consequences if I don't pass. I found the optional, unmarked assignment much more fun: I got to do some proofs! Ah, proofs, how I have missed you.
I could feel my brain creaking at having to remember trig identities and how to project complex vectors. Partly because it's been so long, and partly because my cfs make it hard to concentrate. The course is supposed to take up 5-12 hours a week which is way more than my brain can handle, this first week took me more like 3, including checking out the forums, but I may well have to drop out as it goes on.
If any of you do decide to sign up, I recommend reading the forums before attempting the assignment, a lot of the ambiguities are teased out and there's some recs of further reading (which I don't have the brain for myself) There's people from all over the world, it's cool.
(...I need a "Science!" icon)
The lecturer is pretty good, unfortunately the first assignment is not very well written and the multiple choice format is not well suited to someone like me who is good at theory but makes silly numerical mistakes. On the plus side you can take it multiple times with a 10% penalty, and I went from 26/60 the first time to 60/60 the second. Alas this was partly due to getting a feel for the kind of answer that would be right rather than entirely understanding why the answers were right, but hopefully this will improve as the course goes on, and it's not like I'll actually suffer any consequences if I don't pass. I found the optional, unmarked assignment much more fun: I got to do some proofs! Ah, proofs, how I have missed you.
I could feel my brain creaking at having to remember trig identities and how to project complex vectors. Partly because it's been so long, and partly because my cfs make it hard to concentrate. The course is supposed to take up 5-12 hours a week which is way more than my brain can handle, this first week took me more like 3, including checking out the forums, but I may well have to drop out as it goes on.
If any of you do decide to sign up, I recommend reading the forums before attempting the assignment, a lot of the ambiguities are teased out and there's some recs of further reading (which I don't have the brain for myself) There's people from all over the world, it's cool.
(...I need a "Science!" icon)
no subject
Date: 2012-07-18 02:58 am (UTC)