Q IS FOR QUANTUM
Quantum mechanics for those who only know basic arithmetic
The Measurement problem
This note contains a simplified version of von-Neumann's exposition of the so-called "measurement problem" using the misty-state formalism
Recovering the standard quantum mathematical formalism
The formalism introduced in Q is for Quantum involves doing (a large subset of) quantum mechanics using elementary string-rewriting rules instead of the regular formalism (which is based on linear algebra). A very brief summary of how the two are connected can be found in this note.
Python and Matlab code
Many thanks to Ilia Kurgansky, Head of Computer Science at Rugby School in the UK, who is making available this python code capable of doing all the misty state calculations! Some extremely poor matlab code is available from Terry on request.
Other resources
Ed Barnes, Sophia Economou and Terry Rudolph discuss a program for teaching quantum theory to high school students in this paper. The paper includes a new game “Money or Tiger” that is an even simpler introduction to a quantum algorithm than the “bank robbery” game at the end of Part I of Q is for Quantum
Nathan Schor, the creator of Quantum Curious, has set up this page where he summarizes some of the rules for calculating with the mists, as well as providing his own tips, tricks & insights into learning with the misty-state approach.
Although there is an unbelievable amount of Q-Rubbish in the pop-sci literature, not everything is! In this note I have listed a few favorite pop-sci (or slightly beyond) books. These are all written by excellent physicists are at the cutting edge of modern research in the areas they discuss
An introductory online course which begins using some of the formalism in Q is for Quantum can be found at this link. This course was designed Prof. Diana Franklin, Dr. Kaitlin Smith, and her CANON Lab team and is intended for students with only an algebra background.