Today’s post is part of the Insecure Writer’s Support Group, a blog hop hosted by Alex J. Cavanaugh. It’s a way for insecure writers like myself give each other advice and encouragement. Click here to see a full list of participating blogs.
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Bear with me on this. Today’s post may seem really sciency at first, but I promise it is about writing.
Scientists are currently working on a new kind of computer called a quantum computer. In fact, there’s a company based in British Columbia called D-Wave that claims they’ve already started selling these special, new computers (for several million dollars a pop), though there’s ongoing controversy about whether or not D-Waves product is truly “quantum.”
What makes these quantum computers so special is that they take advantage of the weird science of quantum mechanics. Rather than recording data as a series of zeros and ones, a quantum computer uses a series of qubits (or Q-bits) to store data as zero, one, or zero and one at the same time. The advantage of this is it allows quantum computers to skip steps in complex calculations, making those calculations much faster.
What does this have to do with writing? I’ll tell you. You and I, my fellow insecure writer, are not quantum computers. We’re more like the regular kind. Yes, there is something weird and almost quantumly magical about creativity and inspiration and the Muse, but writing itself is a long, often tedious process, and we don’t get to skip steps.
Planet Pailly 