Scott Aaronson: The Future of Computer Science, and Why Every Other Major Sucks By Comparison

Scott Aaronson

Associate Professor, EECS

And Why Every Other Major Sucks By Comparison

Stereotypes of CS Majors

Moore’s Law

So what’s next?

Robot Uprising

Uploading our brains to computers;replacement of “real life” by the Matrix

=So what else is there?

What we’ve learned from quantum computers so far:

15 = 3 × 5(with high probability)

Relativity Computer

DONE

Zeno’s Computer

STEP 1

STEP 2

STEP 3STEP 4

STEP 5

Tim

e (s

econ

ds)

Time Travel Computer

R CTC R CR

C

0 0 0

Answer

“Causality-Respecting Register”

“Closed Timelike

Curve Register”

Polynomial Size Circuit

S. Aaronson and J. Watrous. Closed Timelike Curves Make Quantum and Classical Computing Equivalent, Proceedings of the Royal Society A 465:631-647, 2009. arXiv:0808.2669.

Computer Science Is Interdisciplinary

Math

Biology

Economics

Physics

Brain/Cognitive

Conclusions

- Great choice to get admitted here

- Come to MIT

- You could do a course other than 6-3, but why?