SOUNDTRACK: THE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS-“Don’t Destroy This Night from Score! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers (2009).
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is is one of my favorite tracks on this compilation. The New Pornographers grab this song and don’t let go. It’s loud and catchy and wonderful. I didn’t know the original of this song either (evidently I don’t know any bands on Merge Records except for Superchunk).
The original is by the Rock*A*Teens, whom I don’t know at all. I listened to the original and while the chorus is very similar, the verses are much slower (which is funny given their name). The Rock*A*Teens version is even kind of moody. The New Pornographers don’t really increase the pace at all, but there’s something about it that make it seem brighter, poppier.
Once again, I like both versions, but the New Pornographers edge out a bit.
[READ: April 6, 2012] “Dream Machine”
After reading all of those Harper’s pieces by Rivka Galchen, I decided to see if she’d written anything else that I could get my hands on. Turns out that she has written this essay for the New Yorker (and a short story that I hadn’t seen as well as a few other short pieces).
This essay is about quantum computing. I had recently read something about the potential of quantum computers, so I was intrigued to read this more lengthy and detailed piece. As she states: “With one millionth of the hardware of an ordinary laptop, a quantum computer could store as many bits of information as there are particles in the universe.” Not bad, eh?
It could also do what other computers only dream of (heck, it could probably even dream). The key is that quantum computers are not binary. Regular computers do either 1 or 0. That’s all. Quantum computers can do 1 and 0 and both–all at the same time. Exactly what that means is a bit harder to grasp, and although the article helped, my summary is about as good as I can do.
For the article, Galchen talked with David Deutsch, the “founding father” of quantum computing (as well as a few other physicists). Deutsch believes that if quantum computers work, it validates the Many Worlds Interpretation (which is just what it sounds like). But many physicists who believe in the potential for quantum computing either do not care about or simply avoid talking about Many Worlds. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 