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Book Review: “Quantum Supremacy” by Michio Kaku (tl;dr DO NOT BUY)
Scott Aaronson, Shtetl-Optimized, 2023/05/20

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I love a good bad review, and this one is in that list. First, though, let me say this: I've had the chance to look at some of the work being done on quantum algorithms by my colleagues, and I've learned two major things: there is something there; quantum computing is a real thing and will be important in the future; and it would take quite a bit of work before I felt qualified to write a short description of it, let alone a book. Michio Kaku appears not to have let lack of knowledge stop him. "Kaku appears to have had zero prior engagement with quantum computing, and also to have consulted zero relevant experts who could've fixed his misconceptions." This review tears apart his work with example after example (and even I can see how Kaku is wrong in these examples, that's how basic the errors are). But "the errors aren't the worst of it. The majority of the book is not even worth hunting for errors in, because fundamentally, it's filler." The sad part is that the book is being widely promoted and has become a bestseller. "Kaku's slapdash 'book,' and the publicity campaign around it, represents a noxious step backwards."

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