Link to QubitNews

Bill Unruh, a good referee

Sometimes I think Quantum Computing is like a wheezy asthmatic patient in need of some Unruh oxygen. In the physics world, Prof. Bill Unruh is best known for his important contributions to quantum mechanics and general relativity (e.g.Unruh effect). On the Internet, he is best known for his highly pedagogical posts to the linux and cryptography newsgroups. His comments there about quantum computing and quantum cryptography combine a Feynmanesque intuition for physics with an equally Feynmanesque passion for honesty. He is a tough, but, in my opinion, fair, referee of quantum computing and quantum cryptography. Serious athletes in the sport of quantum computing should prefer jumping over a bar set by him rather than a bar set by a less demanding ref. I wish journalist would seek and quote his opinion about quantum computing news events, rather than quoting other more hype-prone physicists. But this probably won't happen; it seems that science journalists and hype-prone physicists love and attract each other, much like cannibals and missionaries did in the Pacific Islands during the 19th century.