|
 |
"Schroedinger's Games," by Graham P. Collins. Scientific American, January 2000, pages 18-20.
The classic "prisoner's dilemma," in which two criminals must choose whether to stay quiet or rat each other out, has no easy way out -- the best strategy is to talk and hope that the other does not. However, there can be a way out if the situation is ruled by quantum mechanics. By creating a superposition of defecting and not defecting, a theoretical device will allow each prisoner to reap the benefit of keeping quiet. The importance of these results is not to avoid the law; instead they provide a prototype error-correction system in information processing.
--- Benjamin Stein
 |
Comments: Email Webmaster |
