Lent by a friend, this was a slightly confounding read on a topic that should be nothing but deeply fascinating – it doesn’t get much more science fiction-cum-fact than quantum computing.
But this book manages two things – firstly, it has a feeling of being a little rushed in places where adjectives/phrases are used repeatedly numerous times in the space of a couple of paragraphs. It really makes the reading experience a little jarring; a little more careful editing/redrafting would have improved things.
Secondly, after a description of quantum computing that felt a little simplistic given the author is himself a theoretical physicist – maybe dumbing down a little too much – the bulk of the book is a sequence of chapters describing complex problems in the world, that maybe quantum computers could solve. But there isn’t really any explanation of how exactly they will help, nor many examples of actual scientific projects using them. I presume these exist, just you wouldn’t know from this book.
In addition, the final chapter is terrible cheesy, and the acknowledgments simply list all the famous scientists that Kaku has apparently met/interviews over his entire career however tangential they may be to quantum computing.
Not a book I can recommend I’m afraid.
