Scott Aaronson on Computational Complexity, Philosophy & Quantum Computing | Philosophical Trials #6

Scott Aaronson is a world-renowned expert in the fields of Quantum Computing and Computational Complexity Theory. He is a David J. Bruton Centennial Professor of Computer Science at The University of Texas at Austin. Prof. Aaronson is known by most computing enthusiasts for his extremely clear and engaging way of communicating difficult theoretical ideas. His book 'Quantum Computing since Democritus' is a wonderful resource of dipping into the topics that we are discussing in this episode. Conversation outline: 00:00 Introduction 01:04 What draws you to Philosophy? 04:36 The importance of focusing of subproblems of the big questions: insights into space, time and thinking machines 09:19 The Turing Test and the chinese room argument 15:37 What other philosophical areas would benefit from looking at Complexity Theory? 21:35 What is Computational Complexity after all? 30:03 NP, complexity classes and the P=NP problem 45:27 Complexity Theory in light of time and memory limitations 52:24 Why do we believe in Quantum Theory? 55:36 What is Quantum Computing? 01:05:45 How are qubits physically implemented? 01:11:14 Quantum Supremacy 01:13:26 Would the construction of a quantum computer which could run Shor’s algorithm confirm the many-worlds interpretation? Remarks on David Deutsch’s quantum views. Enjoy! Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/philosophical-trials/id1513707135 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Sz88leU8tmeKe3MAZ9i10 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/?q=philosophical%20trials Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tedynenu/