The Quantum Moonshot

A shift to a quantum computing framework entails a move away from classical binary logic. Quantum mechanics challenged the binary division of matter and light in the universe as particle versus wave. Schrödinger came up with a mathematical solution in the form of a quantum wave equation; wave and particle combined in one description. Born offered a radical probabilistic interpretation of the wave function solutions of Schrödinger’s equation as probability amplitudes whose magnitudes predicted the likelihoods of measurement outcomes rather than the precise outcome of a measurement. Heisenberg devised the quantum uncertainty principle, a result derived from the mathematical foundations of quantum theory, which places strict limits on the amount of information that can be known about the properties of a quantum particle. The question therefore is what additional benefits quantum computing can offer. Answering this requires identifying current limitations of classical computing when it comes to addressing the most pressing global issues we face today.