tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post7309629533757529913..comments2024-01-24T00:50:00.616-08:00Comments on Schroedinger's rat: Judging scientific excellence by the shape of the headAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07090384771662989655noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-24641372646568817472013-04-04T11:34:25.563-07:002013-04-04T11:34:25.563-07:00"The notion of a quantum state encapsulates w..."The notion of a quantum state encapsulates what is known of the preparation of a system. An unknown quantum state is self-contradictory, an oxymoron, just as is a "research proposal." Enrico Fermi said that when there is no surprise, it’s not research".<br />Asher Peres (2004) "What is actually teleported?"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-2910397541263359302013-03-10T10:20:15.980-07:002013-03-10T10:20:15.980-07:00Dear Miguel: I wish I had more specific advice th...Dear Miguel: I wish I had more specific advice than Andy Grove's "<b><i><a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=wlPuAAAAMAAJ" rel="nofollow">You never get well on your old products</a></i></b>" (asserted in regard to Intel's transition from memory chips to processor chips).<br /><br />Similarly, perhaps it's implausible to foresee that the QIT academic community will "get well" — in regard to an abundant supply family-supporting jobs and/or viable academic careers for young researchers — on its "old products" of quantum computers, quantum cryptography, and entanglement measures.<br /><br />What are the "new products" on which the future of QIT depends? Heck, isn't that what people read <i>Schroedinger's Rat</i> to find out? You tell us!John Sidleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16286860374431298556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-79536538179219810332013-03-04T14:12:47.461-08:002013-03-04T14:12:47.461-08:00For some reason(s), I like most of the told. Pitty...For some reason(s), I like most of the told. Pitty, as I'm willing to spit on something. :)perageniousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-23851921858827825862013-03-02T18:45:59.297-08:002013-03-02T18:45:59.297-08:00This blog post is also about the future of univers...This blog post is also about the future of university teaching careers<br /><a href="http://qbnets.wordpress.com/2013/02/27/my-prediction-for-2013-professor-ill-have-some-fries-with-that-exam/" rel="nofollow">My Prediction For 2013: “Professor, I’ll have some fries with that exam”</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-39362496348885886352013-03-01T09:31:49.447-08:002013-03-01T09:31:49.447-08:00Hi man,
I hope you don't get a job! You shoul...Hi man,<br /><br />I hope you don't get a job! You should't take offence to this though as I'm not insulting you, I'm simply speaking my mind.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-88462230079581770772013-02-26T12:07:05.338-08:002013-02-26T12:07:05.338-08:00Hi John,
Perhaps peer review was as crappy in 195...Hi John,<br /><br />Perhaps peer review was as crappy in 1957 as it is nowadays. However, at that time it wasn't that relevant, at least for theoretical researchers. Actually, I'm not sure that even the concept of postdoc existed in 1957: my impression is that, in those golden times, one was granted a faculty position at the end of the PhD studies. Then it was not necessary to get a grant every O(1) years in order to pay the rent, etc.; rather, one could research whatever one felt like it.<br /><br />Back to the present, I would like to follow Richard Hamming's advice, i.e., leave nonlocality for a while and work on something else, say, quantum optics.<br /><br />But, alas, I cannot! If I stop my research in nonlocality and dedicate all my energies to quantum optics, I may not publish in a year or more, and so I will have troubles finding a postdoc when my current contract expires.<br /><br />The natural option would be to find a 3-5 year grant. However, no matter how vibrant my grant proposal is (and believe me, I could make it very vibrant for certain project I have been thinking about lately), I will never get funded, because I have no publications in quantum optics.<br /><br />I wished that referees read "You and your research" and gave me a chance, because it is clear that what I learned about quantum mechanics from my work on nonlocality can be applied to quantum optics as well. This won't happen, though, because for non-expert referees these two topics are worlds apart.<br /><br />So what I have been doing in the last two years is to research those other topics in my spare time. This has brought me a lot of publications in nonlocality and just three or four papers on unrelated areas. Definitely not enough volume to apply for a grant on any of these other fields.<br /><br />Conclusion:<br /><br />I find Richard Hamming's advice very healthy for group leaders, and a career suicide for postdocs. And maybe peer review used to be as intolerant with career discontinuities as it is today, but I don't see the connection with the way scientific results are explained.<br /><br />P.S.: on a more positive note, I liked a lot "you and your research" and "no, you cannot be a Professor". Please, keep posting wonderful links!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090384771662989655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-35378110804336789332013-02-25T10:10:02.749-08:002013-02-25T10:10:02.749-08:00Miguel, estas enojando y alienando a todos los pol...Miguel, estas enojando y alienando a todos los politicos de la ciencia. Rezar 3 Padre Nuestros y 2 Ave Marias de penitencia, y parar este blog lo mas pronto posible o Dios te va a castigar. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-52400171942296494072013-02-25T08:14:22.107-08:002013-02-25T08:14:22.107-08:00HA! I knew that, if I waited long enough, some ini...HA! I knew that, if I waited long enough, some initiate would reveal the secret words!<br /><br />My previous attempts at guessing the code: "please", "please pretty please", "please pretty please with sugar on top" and "give me the grant or I will kill your offspring" had mixed results.<br /><br />Thanks, Lidia. I hope that the Grant Masters are merciful and spare your life.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090384771662989655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-64854663468540648192013-02-22T03:04:00.338-08:002013-02-22T03:04:00.338-08:00Dear Rat,
Are you telling us that it isn't al...Dear Rat, <br />Are you telling us that it isn't all about including the words "harness the power of quantum" in your proposal? Is there another masonic sign of recognition?Lidianoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-75738907969035541322013-02-20T07:34:23.673-08:002013-02-20T07:34:23.673-08:00… and for a thoughtful depiction of a future in wh...… and for a thoughtful depiction of a future in which the explicanda of quantum information science are <i>not</i> markedly augmented, see Larry Cebula's <b><a href="http://northwesthistory.blogspot.com/2011/11/open-letter-to-my-students-no-you.html" rel="nofollow">No, You Cannot be a Professor</a></b> and its sequel <b><a href="http://northwesthistory.blogspot.com/2011/11/no-you-cannot-be-professor-reactions.html" rel="nofollow">No, You Cannot be a Professor — the Reactions</a></b>.<br /><br />It is prudent to be wary of Professor Quantum Sparkle-Pony! :)John Sidleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16286860374431298556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-48124899544515142902013-02-19T03:18:31.358-08:002013-02-19T03:18:31.358-08:00Miguel, you might find it instructive to go to you...Miguel, you might find it instructive to go to your library and read some bound copies of <i>Scientific American</i> from the year 1957. <br /><br />In paging through these volumes, it's evident that the scientific <i>explicandum</i> of the 1950s was vibrant and the job market (both public and private) <b><a href="http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,821134,00.html" rel="nofollow">was vibrant too</a></b>.<br /><br />As for quality of scientific peer review, it is scarcely likely to have been any better in 1957, than it is at present, eh?<br /><br /><b>Conclusion</b> If there is a deficiency in the vitality of the STEM culture of the early 21st century, relative to the vitality of the STEM culture of 1950s, it is more plausibly a deficiency of explicanda than a deficiency of peer review.John Sidleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16286860374431298556noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-27032325476054106902013-02-18T15:26:06.996-08:002013-02-18T15:26:06.996-08:00The thing is, I said pretty much what I wanted to ...The thing is, I said pretty much what I wanted to say in that post. More would be repetition...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090384771662989655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-33497701486501572752013-02-17T14:50:10.529-08:002013-02-17T14:50:10.529-08:00ok. When is the "road to QIP" coming? Th...ok. When is the "road to QIP" coming? The first installment was so good that it deserves a follow up!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-86310568153607488252013-02-16T12:01:18.061-08:002013-02-16T12:01:18.061-08:00Aha! You like blood, eh?
Maybe in the next post....Aha! You like blood, eh? <br /><br />Maybe in the next post...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07090384771662989655noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7648335853014702781.post-4999571201827859712013-02-15T23:25:05.722-08:002013-02-15T23:25:05.722-08:00Dear Rat,
please do not be constructive, we reall...Dear Rat,<br /><br />please do not be constructive, we really miss the old style! More offences and truths please. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com