Sections 19.1-19.3 due June 6

What was difficult?

All the sections were very hard to read through. As the book mentions it is hard to explain quantum computing to a non-physicists. I wasn't able to follow most of the chapter and a lot of the time I felt like I was just reading words rather then understanding anything. As a computer science major it was too much for me to except that a computer can do a lot of the things that they said it can do. And when it got into the math of Fourier transforms I got further confused.


Reflections

While I was not able to understand the bulk of the section I was able to get a few things out of it. Quantum computing has been brought up before to me and I have never understood it. I was told that quantum computers can also sort numbers in O(n) which is also amazing. Advance in technology are always amazing and I would love to see the ideas of quantum computing materialized. In all the section was interesting in the ideas it presented, though a lot of the math went right over my head

Sections 4.5-4.8 and 8.7 due June 2

What was hard?

Section 4.5 was very hard to follow. I guess I am easily scared when I see a bunch of symbols and diagrams. I was unable to follow most of the subsections and have a very loose understanding of the section as a whole. I am hoping that I will gain a better understanding of it from lecture.

Reflections:

Section 4.8 (on password security) was very interesting. One of the first things I learned about computer security is passwords. I was always told to use a alphanumeric password and to use a different password for all my accounts. Doing so would make it hard for my account to be broken into as well as make it so if one account is compromised...not all accounts become so. I found it interesting that there are ways to help safeguard people who choose somewhat dubious passwords with the addition of "salt".