Quantum Computing, Binary and Marriage

My husband and I are extremely well matched in a lot of ways.  Intellectually our IQs are similar.  When the national IQ test was on television a couple of years ago we both did it and discovered that we’re only two points apart.  The Myers-Briggs personality test seems to think we’re similar too.  Charles is an INTJ and I’m an INFJ.  What’s the difference between those?  The difference is that he tends towards thinking (T) and I tend towards feeling (F)*.

But where we differ we differ big time.  We might rate at the same level on the intelligence scale but the direction we’ve sent our learning in – what we’ve actually done with our smarts – couldn’t be more different.  Charles is obsessed with all things computers, physics and quantum while I’ve headed down sociological, anthropological and psychological paths.

Having a wife with those sorts of leanings is of great benefit to Charles.  When he annoys someone or upsets them and can’t understand why I can usually clue him in before he’s finished closing his mouth from explaining to me what happened.  I can also usually word him up on ways to handle delicate situations so he doesn’t wind up being counselled about his abrasive attitude.

I take advantage of his strengths too.  Were it not for Charles I would have spent the gross domestic product of a small African nation on IT support for my computer.  I’ll only grudgingly hand him this one because I’m fairly certain that 90% of my issues are a direct result of the complicated way he’s set everything up in the first place.

But there are downsides to living with and loving an IT geek with a love of all things science and one of those is that conversations designed to inform and educate me almost invariably leave me feeling dumber than when I started.

The most recent example involves the new concept of “quantum computers”.  As a spouse it’s your job to be interested in the things that interest your partner, even if you only nod and smile in the right places while they use you as a sounding board.  Charles recently announced on the drive out to a friend’s house that he was sure the answer to artificial intelligence lies in the new area of quantum computing.

After almost ten years together this sentence immediately set off the warning bells.  Murky waters ahead, treacherous submerged objects, sound the alarms, you’re going down sister.  Cautiously I asked what quantum computing is all about.

So Charles decides to start by explaining binary in quantum computers.  Now, binary and I have a spotty track record.  I get that it’s all about a base two counting system.  I know it’s used in computing as an on/off mechanism and that data is stored in complicated arrangements of binary. 

Unfortunately I’ve never really understood much beyond that.  I can’t count in binary, I don’t know why Charles “turned 100000” this year or why that’s even funny.  I do not get this XKCD cartoon;

Binary is just one of those things that will always be a weird concept that just narrowly escapes me.  Here’s how our quantum computing/binary conversation went**;

Charles:  Okay so you know that binary means it’s either a 0 or a 1 which means that it’s either on or off?

Me (dubiously):  Okay…

Charles:  Well with a quantum bit it’s on AND off at the same time!  Isn’t that brilliant?!

Me (wincing): Ngyah…*spoink*  I like purple!  It’s so PRETTY!

Subsequently he decided to have this same conversation with his equally science-obsessed step-father out of my earshot.

*  While we only differ in one particular area of personality I can safely say it’s a critical one.  Every single argument we’ve ever had in our entire relationship comes down to the difference in perception between a mostly thinking individual and a mostly feeling one.  We have had some DOOZIES.

** For the record I always let Charles vet any post that refers to him so I don’t post something that will upset him.  He made the following comments about this post;

About our setup; “It’s not a complicated arrangement…”

About turning “100000;  “It IS funny….

About my recollection of the conversation; “There’s no such thing as quantum binary”.  Then he fixed what I’d written to more accurately reflect what he said.