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Technical Difficulties Please Stand By
Table Of Contents PiXeL
4. Messages From the Authors A little about each of the creators of this magazine issue.
6. Letter From the Editors A message from the editors about the creation of this magazine.
8. What goes on in the mind of Photo Credit: Ananya V.
a computer?
page 9
What happens inside a computer when you press a key?
12. Ubiquitous Chips! Find out six cool places computer chips are used.
14. Uploading Human Memory. What if we can store our memories in computers so they last forever?
18. Left Brain vs. Right Brain What does each part of the brain do?
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Photo Credit: Pexels
page 14.
20. The Inner Workings of a Neural Network. What makes up neural network, and how do the parts work together?
24. Artificial Intellegence in 20 years. What is Artificial Intellegence, and how can it be used in the near future?
Photo Credit: Pexels
pg. 24
26. The Quantum Computer What is Quantum Computing and how can it be used in real life?
30. Operating System Comparison What are some important differences between the most popular operating systems?
32. A Virtual Future. What are some pros and cons of some of the popularly used VR goggles?
36. VR For Dummies
Photo Credit: Knight Center for Journalism
pg. 32
What are some pros and cons of some of the popularly used VR goggles?
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Contributors Charlee Savinelli Charlee Savinelli is a mildly artistic high-school student and a co-editor of PiXeL magazine. When she’s not procrastinating the day before a deadline, she enjoys watching late-night comedy shows, drawing stuff, laughing at her own obscure references that nobody else understands, and playing low-quality dress up games online. The sunglasses, although unnecessary, are an integral part of her soul at this point, along with a natural distrust of gingers and a love of Tex-Mex. In the future, she hopes to get a life and do something meaningful with it.
Ananya Venkateswaran Ananya Venkateswaran is a energetic, bubbly girl and a proud co-editor of this PiXeL magazine issue. When she is not playing soccer, dancing, singing, or playing the cello, she enjoys watching TV, attending model UN conferences, exercising, and volunteering. Ananya has dreams of becoming a professional soccer player and having more spare time, which is decreasing day by day. From a young age, Ananya was always intrigued by computer engineering, but never got a chance to learn more about it until this magazine.
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Alex Burton Alexander Burton is a very humorous person, and enjoys computer science, mathematics, and other STEM-related subjects. He intends to get a degree in computer science in one of the top universities of the US. In his free time, he enjoys playing Team Fortress 2 and programming for fun. Alex wrote his feature story about artificial intelligence because of the topic’s upcoming prevalence in everyday life.
Shido Nakajima Shido Nakajima is the “guy who’s always there” kind of person, and has interest in human brain systems and the fusion of human body and computers. He was born in Japan and moved to the United States of America in 2009. He likes almost every part of Japanese culture, such as food, tradition, and entertainment. He especially likes to watch anime, read manga, read web novels, and play Japanese video games. Although 2017 is his eighth year in the US, he is still more comfortable in speaking Japanese than English.
Liam Clarke Liam Clarke is a freshman at LASA who also has red hair. He is very active, having run a marathon, been on two soccer teams, and been on the cross country team. He has an affinity for computers, and spends too much of his time on them. He loves all kinds of science, which led him to the topic of quantum mechanics and computing. After making his story, he learned far more about one of his favorite topics - the quantum realm.
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A Letter From The Editors Dear Readers, First things first, we’d like to thank you all for reading our magazine, because although its production caused our group to collectively grow a few gray hairs, every struggle we went through to make this thing was worth it in the end. The fact that other people get to flip through our little work of art (that took a full 18 weeks to put together, FYI) makes us feel honored, if a bit nervous.
Moving on...
In case you couldn’t tell from the title, PiXeL is a magazine about the intriguing, mysterious, and sometimes complicated field of computer science. However, unlike many other computer science magazines, PiXeL covers a huge variety of topics, from the basics of computers (page 8) to the future of virtual reality (page 32). Although our subjects are pretty varied, we hope we succeeded in conveying the underlying message of this magazine: the importance of computer science. Just because this topic has the word computer in it does not mean this technology is only useful in computers. Each of our feature stories and illustration spreads show how this technology can be used in all sorts of interesting devices. Before we continue to the rest of the magazine, we have a small note about our title, “PiXeL”. It’s a pretty generic name, right? Maybe so, but we can guarantee you didn’t pronounce it right, dear reader. Due to the obvious meaning and one editor’s desire to run a joke into the ground, “PiXeL” is pronounced “Pishell”. The capitalization was purely for aesthetic, as we wanted the pixelated X incorporated into the front page, and let’s face it, “piXel” and “PiXel” look kind of dumb. So keep that in mind, and we dare you not to pronounce it conventionally in your head. Anyways, we hope you readers leave this magazine with a bigger and better understanding of the effect computer science has in all facets of our lives.
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Enjoy!
Sincerely,
Our Esteemed Editors
Photo by Shido. Thanks Shido.
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What Goes On In the Mind of a Computer? By: Ananya Venkateswaran
What allows computers to carry out such complex tasks?
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Photo By: Frederico Cintra
n a computer a person can type an essay, browse the Internet, draw a picture, and play a game. These common tasks are made possible by billions of instructions processed by the computer in a fraction of a second. The brain of the computer, the Central Processing Unit (CPU), handles tasks to be performed using other computer components and circuitry at the speed of electricity. But how is the CPU(also called a computer chip) built, and how does it work with other components in the computer?
“A lot of my work does not in volve what happens in one or two years , but somewhat from three to seven years from now”
“A lot of my work does not involve what happens in one or two years, but somewhere from three to seven years from PiXeL
AMD, a semiconductor company, designs computer chips. Gurumurthi designs CPUs and Graphical Processing Units (GPU) of computers. CPUs are chips built of electronic circuitry that carries all the instructions of a computer program, while GPUs are chips used to bring up images quickly.
-Sudhanva Gurumurthi
Three professional engineers working in Austin, Texas, relate experiences showing how computer chips are made and how they work. The engineers also discuss teamwork, and explain the steps to design parts of a computer.
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now.” says Sudhanva Gurumurthi, a computer architect at the company Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) “A lot of my work looks towards what might be the needs of the computer at that time and to build the computers to meet those needs.”
To make sure efficient chips are designed, Gurumurthi looks at the amount of “number crunching” that happens in chips. “One of the ways to measure the efficiency of a computer is how much more useful work it can do within the same amount of time and a certain amount of energy.” Gurumurthi says. A team of architects are given constraints to how efficient
does not pass inspection, it would have to be re-done.” Hung Hua, CEO of Signet Design Solutions says. Signet Design Solutions is a consultancy company which provides integrated circuit designs to electronics industries. This company specializes in semiconductors, and physical design of circuits. Once the architect comes up with the “blueprint” of their designs, the designs are passed to a team of physical designers who build the component.
The chips in this old computer work together to serve the user of the computer. Photo By: Ananya Venkateswaran
or small a chip must be made. Gurumurthi and his team use software tools to measure the efficiency of their design. “The way to keep the people in your team down to a manageable level is by designing software tools which allows you to automate different portions of this process.” Gurumurthi says. functions as expected. Once the design of chips meets
“The way to keep the people in your team down to a managable level is by designing software tools which allow you to automate different
Hua mainly designs chips for wireless communication, like chips going into bluetooth devices, and wireless mice for computers. Like architects, physical design engineers also use softwares from different companies to test out their designs, and make sure every part of the computer works in accordance to one another. Examples of these softwares include: Cadence Design, Mentor Graphics, and Synopsys. “It’s like divide and conquer. There are so many customers out there; if each one starts spending money to develop software, in the broad scheme of things you will be spending too much money.” Hua says when asked to explain how using one software for many different chips benefits the company economically. Using one software for many different chips has made chip design much more efficient compared to how chips were designed in the past. “When I started 30 some years ago, I used to place circuits by hand. We now have software tools which not only picks the circuit but also places it at the correct location automatically.” Hua says. Now that the way of creating circuits and semiconductors have become more automated rather than manual there is less chance for error. This change has not only impacted physical design, but has also affected circuit design.
portions of the process.” -Sudhanva Gurumurthi
the Architects use simulators to test is their design carries out constraints, the architect hands designs to the design engineer, who begin to build the chip. Design engineers work on the actual implementation of the chips and develop ideas on how to make computer chips more efficient. “Think of the housing industry. Think of a contractor who installs the window, the installer would be the physical designer. Then there are inspectors who make sure that the window was installed correctly. This again would fall under the category of physical design, because if the window
Softwares similar to the one in this picture help check engineers work. Photo By: Pexels PiXeL
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Photo By: Ananya Venkateswaran
The final product of these engineers work are silver chips the size of a finger nail.
Circuits are electrical loops in which input values are processed through a sequence of gates to compute a function using transistors, resistors, bulbs, and wires. “My work starts with a piece of paper. I draw what I need to design, I then get that translated using computer aided design (CAD) tools into what is called a schematic,” Gayathri Bhageshwaran, a circuit designer for Next Experience Engineering (NXP), says. NXP is a semiconductor manufacturing company specializing in electronic devices, like circuits. In a computer, circuits are used to carry electrical current and signals to different chips in the computer.
These chips engineered are used to make things such as this seismograph model. Photo By: Pexels
After the schematic is looked over by other engineers in the team, the design is shipped off to a manufacturing plant to get printed. Once the process of printing schematics is done, the designs are brought back and each design is used in different functions. The field Bhageshwaran works in deals with analog circuits which determine signals rather than looking at numbers. One important part of analog design is Input-Output Buffer. These I/O buffers receive and transmit signals, and protect the chip from electrostatic discharge. This discharge could damage the chip, as well as the circuit. At this point both creations would be unusable, and the circuit design engineer would have to recreate another circuit design. Once a circuit design has been completed and approved by the team, the circuit designer writes a disclosure and takes it to a patent lawyer. The lawyer then decides if it is patentable or not.
The next step in the process is to plan out their design for the design process Photo by Pexels
“For 10 patents you get an innovation award. It is called a notable inventor award. So that is another reward of being in the field of engineering. It is a highly creative and innovative field”, Bhageswaran says. Engineering is rewarding and is always full of new questions to which engineers find the answers through building. Hundreds and thousands of scientists and engineers have helped build the computer that has transformed the way people live. These engineers are continuing to invent and innovate to go beyond the capacity of today’s computer technology.
The rewards in engineering are endless Photo By: Pexels
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Ubiquitous
In this article, we show you six wacky places where computer chips are used, and we explain what the functions of computer chips are in each of these devices. In the image below, we included a ilustration of a computer circuit board to give readers a good idea of where the
1.
computer chip (the black square) lies in the computer.
Prosthetic limbs?
This new technology of computer chips in prosthetic limbs makes it easier for the person to control their limbs’ movement, and also makes the limbs more adaptable to their functions, such as grasping things or walking.
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Brain Cells?!
3.
Self-automated homes?
Recently, European scientists have developed what they call “neuro-chips�, which are made by combining actual brain cells and silicon circuits. This invention can lead to a treatment for neurological disorders and organic computers that crunch numbers using living neurons..
These apps that we can simply download on our phones that help us make sure no burglaries are happening also (belive it or not) use computer chips! The electronichamsters that go all in can help make sure there are no leaks or other bad things in your homes.
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Chips
By: Ananya Venkateswaran
4.
Self-driving cars?!
The ECU (Electronic Control Unit) in self driving cars is connected to many computer chips in the car which gives the driver signals such as indicators, as well as an added cluster of chips which gives the car self driving abilities such as parallel parking by itself.
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Tracking Chips?
Tracking Chips are used in wild animals and in some cases livestock such as horses. These are made of of computer chips which stores data files in simple encrypted text files. These are seen to be machines of the future.
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Cell Phones?!
Cell phones, especially smart phones that can browse the Internet need computer chips to carry out the functions that a computer normally can, and is used to decode incoming and outgoing calls. These chips increase the efficiancy of cell phones. PiXeL
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UPLOADING
By Shido Nakajima
HUMAN MEMORY “So, in movies we see a lot of getting people’s memories. In real life, the best way to do it is, you know, asking people while you’re videoing them and then you keep that.” -Jill Burgess
Photo from pexels.com
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ach and every person living on the earth has their own experience of their life saved within as a memory. It could be joyful, or could be sorrowful. However, they are not ever lasting, and are very difficult for one to share with others. If on can remember their memory forever and share it with others by letting them experience the memory, it would be truly amazing. In the near future, humans might become able to keep and share the record of individuals’ memory with the help of neurotechnology. Since scientists have gained a deeper understanding of the human brain recently, most people know that the capacity of human memory is limited. However, that is true only when one rely on nothing other than the brain itself for storing memory. Though not invented yet, the technology to convert human memory into computer memory is much more likely to be invented in the near future. However, the creation of such technology would require an even deeper understanding of the human brain, and thus is still very difficult for it to be invented, even with the current level of neurotechnology. Neurotechnology is a type
of technology concerned with the brain and nervous system. “We do not know yet,” Laura Colgin, assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas said. That is the answer to many of the questions regarding the human brain and the human memory. Although the human understanding of the brain has improved remarkably within a few centuries, it can be said that the improvements are still far from enough to fully understand the human brain functions and the possibilities of it. One would know that not all questions regarding the human brain can be answered yet, but scientists can produce hypotheses and predictions about how brain functions and what can be done to expand the possibilities of humans and their brains. “One hypothesis is that the number of ‘gamma rhythm’ cycles that occur within a certain window of time determine the capacity of working memory,” Colgin says, “But this hypothesis has not been proven yet.”
Both human and computer brain are made of complex connections between compunents.
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Photo provided by source
Scientists hypothesized that ‘Gamma rhythm’ cycles, a type of brain rhythm cycle with high frequency, are the reason for one’s forgetfulness, but currently do not know of any way to eliminate it. However, instead of eliminating the reason, scientists can add something to cover up the reason, and this is where technology comes in place. “So, in movies we see a lot of getting people’s memories,” says Jill Burgess, the Texas Project Lead the Way teacher at Clint Small Middle School, “In real life, the best way to do it is, you know, asking people while you’re videoing them and then you keep that.” As Burgess says, currently humans can only take an experience and record it in some kind of external data, such as a video or a text. Though this process is enough for most cases, there are some cases in which one had not recorded any data. Then, if the technology could take the human memory into an external data source, then there would be no need for one to record it with some kind of device. “Well the positives, you know, the memories that you experience throughout your life that you would want to share with you family that you can’t necessarily,” Burgess explained,“...they would be able to take those memories from the computer and then try to experience what you felt.” The technology to save one’s memory
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Laura Colgin, assistant professor of neuroscience at the University of Texas.
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“A potential negative event is that our natural memory abilities may suffer due to a lack of use” Laura Colgin
an onlooker but as an individual that was involved in the occurrence.
Photo provided by source
“A potential negative event is that our natural memory abilities may suffer due to a lack of use,” Colgin hypothesized. She said she was concerned about this because, for example, current humans no longer remember each other’s phone numbers, for they have phones that store these numbers for them. The translation and the saving of human memory as a computer memory is extremely similar to this example, and by inventing and spreading the technology that remember one’s memory for them to normal households could cause the same thing as the phone did the current humans.
Jill Burgess, the Texas Project Lead the Way teacher at Clint Small Middle School.
to a computer would bring many positive effects to humans. For example, translating neural signals to computer storage will enhance the human’s capacity to access memories without the need of recording the events with recording devices that can only show what happened. Also, by being able to transfer one’s memory into another one’s brain, the person that gets the memory inputted will be able to cross-experience the occurrence not as
These hypothesis for this technology to translate and save human memory as a computer memory, both for during the inventing and after invention of this technology, could become a reality. It is highly difficult for humans to invent such technology, and even after this is invented, there are multiple positive and negative effects that can be predicted and hypothesized. However, whether if the invention and the understanding of the technology is difficult, and whether if the effects are positive or negative, it is necessary for humans to understand ourselves better. The invention of this technology to save and share people’s memories would be able to connect many people together more closely, tightly, and everlastingly.
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LEFT BRAIN ................................................................................. The computing system of the brain. Things are put in order of priority, and acts like a to-do list. Makes decisions. Emotion does not interfere with the decisions. Allows one to think logically. Picking up this signals may allow one to understand one’s logical thoughts.
This part seeks reality and preciseness. Also is capable of distincting things. Picking up this signals may help understand how one differentiate between reality and dream.
The right-eye visual field. On the left brain, but controls the sight sensed by the right eye.
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RIGHT BRAIN ................................................................................. The “human” system of the brain.
By Shido Nakajima
Things are done spontaneously, without taking much account of time or plan. Controls emotion. This part is necessary for the constructing of one’s memory. Allows one to come up with creative ideas. Picking up this isgnals may allow one to understand how some people come up with creative ideas Allows one to think in pictures instead of words. Picking up this signals may allow one to understand one’s thoughts better than words.
The left-eye visual field. On the right brain, but controls the sight sensed by the left eye.
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Photo by Alexander Burton
Artificial Intelligence in 20 Years
The Future of AI
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n as little as 20 years, humanity will see innovations in technology that include digital knowledge bases capable of accepting plain English questions and giving back plain English responses, personal assistant robots that learn about the habits of their owners, self-driving cars that automate our travels, and other new technologies thanks to ongoing research into AI (Artificial Intelligence). Three professors from the AI department at the University of Texas at Austin describe AI in the past and in the near future, as well as the basic principles behind their AI research. According to Pradeep Ravikumar, who has a Ph.D in computer science, the main goal of AI research is to find out what the mechanisms are that allow for any agent or system to learn. “Let’s just say you see some images 20
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of cats, and you see some images of dogs,” he says. “You see a few images of cats and a few images of dogs, and just based on that, you have some idea of what a cat is and a dog is. The next time I show you an image, you will then say, ‘Ah, that’s a cat,’ right? … You’re generalizing the examples I’ve given you, and you get a good guess the next image is, say, a cat.” Dr. Bruce Porter, professor from UT and Ph.D in computer science, has been involved in the development of a specific field of AI: knowledge bases. The story behind this discovery goes way back to 2004, when Paul Allen, co-founder of Microsoft, announced that he would be funding a competition to build an AI system that could pass the AP exam in chemistry. Porter and his team entered this four month long competition.
by Alexander Burton Porter’s team worked on the project for quite a while, but things were not looking too good. “For some time I thought we should just pull out: it’s just too hard,” he said. “But we stuck with it, and at the end of the four months… we ended up winning that competition, so our team took first place in that four-way competition.” “The problem that human scientists have is that as their fields get more and more understood, more and more developed, human scientists have to specialize, they have to get more and more specialized because there’s so much knowledge in their field… But a computer program won’t have that kind of cognitive limitation. It won’t have boundaries in the way that humans do.” “I would say in 20 years there will be what Paul Allen calls a digital Aristotle
“
We’re probably going to get pretty powerful artificial intelligence in the form of software, so you might have assistants that will help us with a lot of things, so, in, almost all of us would have a virtual assistant helping us with some things that will know us very well and so on, and that’s happening in the next 10 years. Dr. Pradeep Ravikumar
a machine, a computer, that is very knowledgeable about science. All fields of science.” Other recent developments in AI include computer vision, the process by which computers interpret the world through images and video. Computer vision is important not only in autonomous vehicles, which rely on camera input to accurately make decisions, but also for personal assistant robots, in which they must be able to identify objects and boundaries to function properly. Dr. Philipp Krähenbül is well known for his important innovation related to this subject. “I think my best known work is an algorithm for very accurately segmenting images,” Krähenbül says. Image segmentation, the process of dividing an image into real-world objects, such as identifying a lamp on top of a desk, only became practical due to his algorithm. “It is now the standard model for semantic image segmentation, and
Photo by UT Dept. of Computer Science
Dr. Bruce Porter, Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UT, has studied knowledge bases extensively
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User Edits
Color Borders
Generated Images
Interactive image generation program made by Kr채henb체hl and several others. The user can draw, as shown on the left panels, and the program will generate images that match the colors and borders from their edits.
Photo by Stacy Norman
Dr. Philipp Kr채henb체hl, Assistant Professor of Artificial Intelligence at UT 22
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Photo by Jun-Yan Zhu
survived for five years now. Recently we got some attention with a project that showed that you can interactively draw images using neural networks.” But what use is a robot that can interpret the world properly that cannot manipulate objects? That’s not a problem, because Ravikumar predicts that robots will also be capable of such manipulations very soon.
next 10 years, but definitely in the next 20 years.” The astounding amount of new AI technology that will be available in the next 20 years is a result of the continued research efforts of thousands of scientists who enjoy research around the world.
“We are probably not going to get robots that, with mobility and manipulation skills, can grasp objects and so on, that we can use in our homes… in the
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To me research is like a big riddle we are all solving. This is what makes it fun. In vision or deep learning, it is a very applied one. You can see what the machine is doing and how it’s solving the task. I cannot point you to a single coolest thing, as there are about a dozen exciting new things each year. Dr. Philipp Krähenbül
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The Inner Workings of a
Neural Network by Alexander Burton
Neural networks are the basis of artificial intelligence. They are very similar in structure to human brains, conisting of a large amount of neurons that communicate with each other. Neural networks are trained with data similar to how humans learn from experiences. This enables tasks that usually can only be completed by humans to be completed by en masse.
A Neuron
Inputs
Output(s)
A neuron has inputs and outputs. The outputs are calculated based on the inputs as well as several other complicated values.
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A Layer of Neurons Outputs
Inputs
The neurons in a layer all take their inputs from a previous layer
The neurons in a layer all output to the inputs of neurons in the next layer
A Neural Network Input Layer
Hidden Layers
Output Layers
When layers are connected together, they create a neural network.
The most important part about neural networks is training, which is essentially teaching a neural network what to output based on certain inputs. While the process of training neural networks is extremely complex, it boils down to fine-tuning each individual value for each neuron.
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The Quantum Computer By Liam Clarke
How the world of quantum computing solves the problems people have been searching for.
A computer with “Do More� on it. Photo by Pexels
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A laptop computer. Photo by Pexels
What is smaller than an atom? The building blocks of the building blocks? The things so small physics do not apply to it? The blips that were realized even before the atom? The particles that are fuelling the future of computing and with the potential to solve the biggest problems humanity has? The answer is a subatomic particle. Subatomic particles include electrons, protons, and neutrons, among others. What is interesting about some of these particles is that they are so small that conventional physics does not apply to
them. This is called the quantum scale, and it only gets more confusing from here on. Because conventional physics does not apply to them, their state is not determined until you observe them. This is called superposition, and this can be used to store information. When I asked Jordan Kyriakidis, professor at Dalhousie University and co-founder of QRA Corp. what superposition was, he immediately exhaled and asked if that was really my question. Superposition is hard to explain, but I’m going to attempt to
explain it. “Superposition is a wave-like property of matter,” said Kyriakidis. “Imagine dropping two pebbles into still water. And both of them are emanating little round waves from it, and where they cross we will see some interesting patterns, where they add up. That’s what superposition is.” Linear superposition is defined by two different “stimuli” creating a response that would have been caused by each stimulus individually. For instance, two waves that collide would create a wave that is the sum of both of the waves. This is the superposition principle in conventional physics.
However, quantum superposition is slightly different. If you know An atom drawn Schrodinger, then you know of the famous “cat in a box”, which illustrates the difference between conventional physics and quantum physics. In conventional physics, the cat in the box is either alive or dead. In quantum “Because quantum com- mechanics, the cat is neither alive nor until observed. This can be used puters use “qubits” of su- dead to store data.
perposition, it is the first thing that seems against the Church-Turing Thesis, which essentially states that all computers are similar at the basic structure of ones and zeroes.... ‘Quantum computing is the first thing that seems counter to that.’ “
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Because quantum computers use “qubits” of superposition, it is the first thing that seems against the ChurchTuring Thesis, which essentially states that all computers are similar at the basic structure of ones and zeroes. Scott Aaronson, computer science professor at the University of Texas, says that “Quantum computing is the first thing that seems counter to that. “What quantum computing challenges is something called the Extended Church-Turing Thesis, it says that all computers are equivalent to each other, that all simulations have a small,
reasonable overhead, like a polynomial overhead.” Every 2^n amount of information, an exponential amount of information compared to conventional computers. This is the reason why quantum computing is so important- it is exponentially better and can process much more. D-Wave is a company that sells quantum computers and helps develop new ones. They recently came out with a new quantum computer to increase computing power for companies, some of which are NASA, Google, and Volkswagen.
Kelly Guin, D-Wave publicizer, gave me a brief rundown of the company: “D-Wave was founded in 1999 with the mission to build n by Liam Clarke quantum computing systems that help solve humanity’s most challenging problems in areas such as government and defense, transportation and logistics, economic risk analysis, healthcare, and space research,” D-Wave is one of the companies leading the future of quantum computing, and “The future of quantum will continue to develop new quantum computing is a tricky one. computers. However, the future of quantum computing is a tricky one. No one really needs a quantum computer sitting at their desk. Aaronson says that “Ken Olson… said there was no reason everyone needs a computer in their home. That’s ridiculed today as one of the wrongest predictions of all time. “For a full scalable quantum computer… That is at least decades. It could be sooner, if someone decides to make a Manhattan project. But a full scalable quantum computer is probably some ways away.”
No one really needs a quantum computer sitting at their desk...“Ken Olson… said there was no reason everyone needs a computer in their home. That’s ridiculed today as one of the wrongest predictions of all time” PiXeL
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Operating System Comparison Microsoft Windows: Known throughout the computing universe. Windows is popular, and can run many different programs.
> Questions > > How Popular is the OS? > > How flexible is the OS? Is it open sourced? Mac OS: > The designer’s choice. Mac OS has amazing ed- > How easy is it to use? iting programs, such as > IMovie and the Adobe designers. However, it is > How much does it cost? not very easy to use. > Linux Ubuntu: > Can you run Linux is an open-sourced many files? but not well known op> (Executables, erating system. Although etc.) still partially in develop> ment, it’s hard not to like >Which OS is the this operating system. best for you? 30
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How...
Linux
Mac OS Microsoft Windows
Popular?
Although fairly unpop- The Macintosh Operat- Known everywhere, Micular, Linux is growing ing System, also known rosoft is the giant of the in popularity due to its as the Mac OS, is freOS world. It is used by growing fans and use in quently used by design- many different people, larger companies. ers and editors. but this means it also has the most viruses.
Flexible?
Linux is open sourced and easily programmable, leading to its use in large companies and databases.
Mac OS is not open sourced and not easily programmable at all.
Simple?
Linux is not simple. Even downloading simple files from the internet can sometimes require typing complicated lines of code into the terminal.
Mac OS is dumbed Windows, although not down to the basics and that simple, is regarded is fairly easy to use. as the basis for computer literacy in this era.
Costly?
Linux is completely free, and can be downloaded at its website for Ubuntu. It also helps the developers produce a better OS.
Mac OS is only accessible by buying an Apple computer, which are notoriously expensive.
Windows can be slightly expensive, but it comes built in on many bought computers and laptops for free.
Computable?
Even though it is open sourced and easily programmable, it cannot run common executables without an emulator.
Mac OS does not have a terminal. Also, Mac OS requires its own file types and disambiguations.
Almost all programs created are made for Windows, so there is no problem with computability.
Microsoft Windows is more flexible than Mac, and is not that easily programmable.
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A Virtual
Future How virtual reality will be impacting our lives and the world around us.
by Charlee Savinelli
$2 billion. That’s how much money was poured into the VR industry in 2016 alone. Nearly every technology giant has a department or sub-company devoted to the production and progression of the next big entertainment medium, some of the most recognizable names out there including Oculus, HTC, and Google. Applications of virtual reality are shaping the future of society. VR will help a variety of professions, and hopefully shape the world for the better. Ready or not, it’s coming. “[Virtual Reality] is important because it opens up various new possibilities for how to engage with each other, with our environment and with brands,” says Jennifer Copeland, an employee at Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo is just one of the many companies, others including everything from automotive giants like Ford or Audi to hardware retail stores like Lowe’s, that have decided to use the interactive power of VR to their benefit. “Currently one of those experiences, Treasure Quest, is being used in our experiential marketing ‘roadshow,’ the Wells Fargo Tour,” says Copeland. “The tour travels to approximately 50 local events a year and engages consumers with fun activi-
ties, allowing Wells Fargo Team Members to interact with them.” VR has developed to the point of easy portability, as evidenced by the ETVR headset depicted left. Photo of girl by author. Photo of city by Sergey Norin.
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“VR can be thought of as a tool. This tool is a time machine, teleportation device, and miniturization machine. This tool has the potential to allow you to travel to any place, whether that place is real or imagined.” -Jason Jerald
An image of the Infinite VR setup described in the text below. Photo by author.
It is not just commercial applications though. Copeland and her team are considering other options for using VR in the future, from financial education to employee training. VR may even be useful in combatting a prominent issue in American media: fake news. “If more people understand the experiences of others around the world and issues we face in the world (i.e. climate change), it could create more empathy and sensitivity to our challenges as a human race. People would be less likely to be manipulated by misinformation,” says Copeland. Copeland also noted that VR in media is a double-edged knife. “Just as with any technology, people could use it to advance negative agendas… If false experiences are created in VR, but promoted as reality, people could be misled,” she says.
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All this speculation and experimentation aside, corporate and political uses for VR are still leagues behind the entertainment applications in prevalence and current usefulness. After all, serious uses are still not everything, and you do not have to be a professional to have a vision for the future, even if it is not quite as grand as some others. “I’ve never really heard of a virtual reality that has scent, so maybe… maybe they’ll incorporate smell,” says Kai Quintero, an employee of Houston based virtual reality company InfiniteVR. InfiniteVR has a two-piece set-up: a VR headset and a strange seat that resembles a large, futuristic egg. One sits in the egg and puts on the headset to get a simulation that engages sight, hearing, touch, and vertigo-induced nausea from an all-too realistic roller coaster ride. Although there aren’t many uses for
this system outside of entertainment as of now, it is still a glimpse into the promising future of VR as a whole. However, even with the current excitement and the future thrills, there are obvious and detrimental downsides to having hyper-realistic experiences at the push of a button. Quintero describes one of the major downsides to virtual reality as the fact that “people will get too into it. And if it was too realistic then people would wanna keep doing it everyday… it would just kinda be like the whole trend of being on your cell phone too much. But only worse.” These negative side effects may make VR seem like the next big drug, and it may be to certain people. But the endless theoretical future uses may tip the scales in favor of the mass implementation of virtual reality into all kinds of situations, everyday or otherwise .
An artistic representation of the future capabilties of VR. Art by author.
Jason Jerald, a Co-Founder and Principal Consultant at VR consultation firm NextGen Interactions, says, “VR can be thought of as a tool. This tool is a time machine, teleportation device, and miniaturization machine. This tool has the potential to allow you to travel to any place, whether that place is real or imagined.”
The negativity does not stop at personal health risks, and extends to potential corporate misuse. “One example is watching an avatar of yourself recommending/liking a product that you wouldn’t normally like. It can be quite difficult for people to disagree with themselves,” Jerald says.
With this space-time bending potential, one of the most promising and widely discussed applications for VR comes into light: empathy. Empathy in a VR sense would, as Jerald puts it, harness “the power of connecting and communicating in a visceral way that can’t be done with other existing forms of media.”
Although these opportunities to use the power of VR for evil paint a potential dystopia, the pros may outweigh the cons with time, further development, and the moral high ground.
But of course, the future is rife with pitfalls and potential catastrophes. “Adverse health effects such as motion sickness, injury, hygiene, etc. are serious challenges.” says Jerald. “I suspect addiction will be a major challenge as well.”
Jerald sums it up nicely: “It is up to us to decide how to use such a powerful tool.”
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Google Cardboard Cardboard Comfort Or lack of, in this case. Imagine cardboard goggles. Not all that comfy, is it?
Functioning Lenses
$15.00
Made of cheap plastic, these lenses may not be all that sophisticated, but they’re definitely worth it for that price tag! Cut-out Cut-in This cardboard nose cutout may leave a mark. Wide variety of compatible phones. If your phone is newer than 2015, it’ll work just fine.
Samsung Gear Only works with the more recent Samsung phones, like the SG7 depicted above. Phone Slot Fits Samsung phones, although if the phone case is too bulky it may not close properly.
$99.9
Laudable Lenses Made out of [ ] and adjustable, these lenses aren’t a great choice for glasses, but are great for VR. Adjustable Apparatus Adjusts to many face sizes, but you may want to leave your glasses out.
VR for Dummies by Charlee Savinelli It should be noted that all currency is in USD (prices not including sales tax or shippping fees), all costs were taken from each product’s respective company website, and comfort levels were taken from customer and critic reviews as well as personal experience.
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Comfort Zone These handsets help the Vive’s uniquely immersive experience along, allowing their user to interact with in-world objects with natural movements.
YAY MEH UGH
$799
Fit for a King Comfortable, customizable, and lightweight, the Vive fits anybody with a few tweaks, and can even be worn with glasses. Material World Made of plastic and foam for a lightweight, yet powerful piece of technology. Marvelous Mechanics The Vive’s greatest feature is also why it’s so expensive: you can walk around your virtual world while walking around your room! A long cord attaches you to your computer while you lose yourself in the magic of immersion. Just be careful not to break anything important.
HTC Vive
Oculus Rift Stretchy Straps Easily adjustable straps and a spacious interior that allows a comfy fit for anyone, from a 7-year-old girl to a college hipster with thick-framed glasses.
$598
High-tech, High-def The price is high, but so is the quality. The Rift has a resolution of 1080 x 1200! For those who don’t use a lot of tech, that’s a really good number.
The Oculus is one of the most widely known VR headsets, and has the most games made for or compatible with it as of today. If you want the most variety in your gaming, go with the Rift.
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I think it’s fair to say that become the most empower ed. They’re tools of comm creativity, and they can -Bill Gates
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t personal computers have ring tool we’ve ever creatmunication, they’re tools of be shaped by their user.
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