Hi, I’m Andrew. Im a Classical Developer.

In the embryonic world of Quantum Computing I am a Classical Developer. No violins, no greek legends, just a keyboard, a mouse, a laptop, and a bunch of screens.
It seems that pre-quantum computing has taken on the common term of Classical Computing ( just like in classical/quantum physics). It had to happen, the same way pre-color film photography was renamed “black and white photography” , after the advent of color film. I can imagine the job adverts of the future on linkedin or irishjobs.ie or where ever, looking for Senior Quantum Engineer’s with a smattering of classical skills. Or classical engineers looking to bootstrap their quantum career in the next quantum startup. So what’s the big deal?
The Superpower of Quantum Computing
The limitations of classical computing is entirely determined by the state of all its bits. We know this. Two states. So 2 to the power of N bits, and we are done. The Summit supercomputer in Oak Ridge National Laboratory developed by IBM , is incredibly powerful but is still limited in that it could not model the immediate state of a caffeine molecule for example. Quantum Computing has a much broader range of states that is defined through the idea of superposition. A quantum computer can take advantage of an exponential number of states and this is its superpower over classical computing. There is a-lot more, but let’s keep it simple for now. The video below will level you up a bit.
One of the perks of working in IBM is you get to see emerging technologies and to use them, and if look back over the past 100 years IBM actually defined them. We have spent decades transforming our software industry enabling us to leverage the infrastructure improvements over time. Mobile app development was not something that was even in our mindsets before we had the devices to develop on. The same applies for quantum computing in my opinion. We are only just trying to understand how we create the assembly languages and frameworks where we can create algorithms to solve problems in the quantum space.

My Quantum challenge ?
It’s time to become a quantum developer. And yes I will update my linkedin profile to say that! 😉 I will endeavour to learn everything I can in the area of quantum development using IBM’s resources and its software libraries. Where possible I will share all the links out and you can follow along. My “beginners mind” is set and ready to go ( Shoshin) .
Shoshin : It’s the open-minded attitude of being ready to learn; without preconceived notions, judgement or bias.
To follow along then keep an eye out on my blog or follow me on linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewpenrose/ where I will share the blog post links and updates.