Scott Aaronson: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous editNext edit →
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
$200,000 bet
Mangojuice (talk | contribs)
19,969 edits
rv; no more notable than anything else he says on his blog until reliable sources comment on it.
Line 38: Line 38:
==Popular work==
==Popular work==
He is a founder of the [http://qwiki.stanford.edu/wiki/Complexity_Zoo ''Complexity Zoo''] [[wiki]], which catalogs all classes of [[computational complexity]].<ref>''Automata, Computability and Complexity'' by Elaine Rich (2008) ISBN 0132288060, [http://books.google.com/books?id=lIuu53IcKWoC&pg=PA589&dq=%22complexity+zoo%22 p. 589, section "The Complexity Zoo"]</ref><ref>[http://qwiki.stanford.edu/wiki/Complexity_Zoo The Complexity Zoo page] at [[Qwiki]] (a quantum physics wiki, [[Stanford University]]) </ref> He is the author of the much-read [[blog]] "Shtetl-Optimized" as well as the [[essay]] ''Who Can Name The Bigger Number?''.<ref>http://www.scottaaronson.com/writings/bignumbers.html</ref> The latter work, widely distributed in [[academia|academic]] [[computer science]], uses the concept of [[Busy Beaver Number]]s as described by [[Tibor Rado]] to illustrate the limits of [[computability]] in a pedagogic environment. An article of Aaronson's, "The Limits of Quantum Computers", was published in ''[[Scientific American]]'',<ref name="sciam-2008">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-limits-of-quantum-computers |title=The Limits of Quantum Computers |author=Aaronson, Scott |journal=Scientific American |date=February 2008}}</ref> and he was a [[guest speaker]] at the 2007 [[Foundational Questions in Science Institute]] conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2007888.htm |work=The Science Show |title=Foundational Questions in Science Institute conference |date=18 August 2007 |accessdate=2008-12-01 |publisher=[[ABC Radio]]}}</ref> Aaronson is frequently cited in non-academic press, such as ''[[Science News]]''<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc99/11_20_99/bob2.htm |title=Quantum Games |first=Ivars |last=Peterson |journal=Science News |volume=156 |issue=21 |date=November 20, 1999 |page=334 |year=1999 |publisher=Science Service|accessdate=2008-12-01}}</ref>, ''[[The Age]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/16/1037080961482.html|title=Two-digit theory gets two fingers |accessdate=2008-12-01|work=The Age|date=November 17, 2002 |first=Roger |last=Franklin}}</ref>, [[ZDNet]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-175054.html|title=D-Wave's quantum computer ready for latest demo|first=Peter |last=Judge |date=November 9, 2007|work=ZDNet |publisher=[[CNET]] |accessdate=2008-12-01}}</ref> ''[[Slashdot]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.slashdot.org/news/08/11/29/1814222.shtml |date=November 29, 2008 |title=Improving Wikipedia Coverage of Computer Science |author=Dawson, Keith |publisher=Slashdot |accessdate=2008-12-01 }}</ref>, ''[[New Scientist]]''<ref>{{cite journal|journal=New Scientist |title=Outside of time: The quantum gravity computer |date=March 31, 2007 |first=Michael |last=Brooks |issue=2597|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325971.500-outside-of-time-the-quantum-gravity-computer.html?full=true}}</ref>, ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/business/yourmoney/08slip.html?pagewanted=all |title=A Giant Leap Forward in Computing? Maybe Not |work=The New York Times |publisher=[[The New York Times Company]] |accessdate=2008-12-01 |first=Jason |last=Pontin |date=April 8, 2007}}</ref>, and ''[[Forbes Magazine]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/sciencesandmedicine/2008/12/10/hot-topics-contradictions-tech-sciences_cz_lg_1211gomes.html |date=December 12, 2008 |title=Your World View Doesn't Compute}}</ref>.
He is a founder of the [http://qwiki.stanford.edu/wiki/Complexity_Zoo ''Complexity Zoo''] [[wiki]], which catalogs all classes of [[computational complexity]].<ref>''Automata, Computability and Complexity'' by Elaine Rich (2008) ISBN 0132288060, [http://books.google.com/books?id=lIuu53IcKWoC&pg=PA589&dq=%22complexity+zoo%22 p. 589, section "The Complexity Zoo"]</ref><ref>[http://qwiki.stanford.edu/wiki/Complexity_Zoo The Complexity Zoo page] at [[Qwiki]] (a quantum physics wiki, [[Stanford University]]) </ref> He is the author of the much-read [[blog]] "Shtetl-Optimized" as well as the [[essay]] ''Who Can Name The Bigger Number?''.<ref>http://www.scottaaronson.com/writings/bignumbers.html</ref> The latter work, widely distributed in [[academia|academic]] [[computer science]], uses the concept of [[Busy Beaver Number]]s as described by [[Tibor Rado]] to illustrate the limits of [[computability]] in a pedagogic environment. An article of Aaronson's, "The Limits of Quantum Computers", was published in ''[[Scientific American]]'',<ref name="sciam-2008">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-limits-of-quantum-computers |title=The Limits of Quantum Computers |author=Aaronson, Scott |journal=Scientific American |date=February 2008}}</ref> and he was a [[guest speaker]] at the 2007 [[Foundational Questions in Science Institute]] conference.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/rn/scienceshow/stories/2007/2007888.htm |work=The Science Show |title=Foundational Questions in Science Institute conference |date=18 August 2007 |accessdate=2008-12-01 |publisher=[[ABC Radio]]}}</ref> Aaronson is frequently cited in non-academic press, such as ''[[Science News]]''<ref>{{Cite journal|url=http://www.sciencenews.org/sn_arc99/11_20_99/bob2.htm |title=Quantum Games |first=Ivars |last=Peterson |journal=Science News |volume=156 |issue=21 |date=November 20, 1999 |page=334 |year=1999 |publisher=Science Service|accessdate=2008-12-01}}</ref>, ''[[The Age]]''<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2002/11/16/1037080961482.html|title=Two-digit theory gets two fingers |accessdate=2008-12-01|work=The Age|date=November 17, 2002 |first=Roger |last=Franklin}}</ref>, [[ZDNet]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://news.zdnet.com/2100-9584_22-175054.html|title=D-Wave's quantum computer ready for latest demo|first=Peter |last=Judge |date=November 9, 2007|work=ZDNet |publisher=[[CNET]] |accessdate=2008-12-01}}</ref> ''[[Slashdot]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://news.slashdot.org/news/08/11/29/1814222.shtml |date=November 29, 2008 |title=Improving Wikipedia Coverage of Computer Science |author=Dawson, Keith |publisher=Slashdot |accessdate=2008-12-01 }}</ref>, ''[[New Scientist]]''<ref>{{cite journal|journal=New Scientist |title=Outside of time: The quantum gravity computer |date=March 31, 2007 |first=Michael |last=Brooks |issue=2597|url=http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19325971.500-outside-of-time-the-quantum-gravity-computer.html?full=true}}</ref>, ''[[The New York Times]]''<ref name=nyt>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2007/04/08/business/yourmoney/08slip.html?pagewanted=all |title=A Giant Leap Forward in Computing? Maybe Not |work=The New York Times |publisher=[[The New York Times Company]] |accessdate=2008-12-01 |first=Jason |last=Pontin |date=April 8, 2007}}</ref>, and ''[[Forbes Magazine]]''<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.forbes.com/sciencesandmedicine/2008/12/10/hot-topics-contradictions-tech-sciences_cz_lg_1211gomes.html |date=December 12, 2008 |title=Your World View Doesn't Compute}}</ref>.

==The $200,000 Bet==
On August 9th, 2010, Aaronson stated on his blog:
<blockquote>If [[Vinay Deolalikar]] is awarded the $1,000,000 [[Millennium Prize Problems|Clay Millennium Prize]] for his proof of [[P≠NP]], then I, Scott Aaronson, will personally supplement his prize by the amount of $200,000.<ref>http://scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=456</ref></blockquote>


==Intellectual property==
==Intellectual property==

Revision as of 15:59, 9 August 2010

Scott Joel Aaronson
BornMay 21, 1981
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
NationalityAmerican
Alma materCornell University
University of California, Berkeley
Known forQuantum Turing with postselection
Algebrization
Scientific career
FieldsComputational complexity theory, Quantum Computing
InstitutionsMassachusetts Institute of Technology
Institute for Advanced Study
University of Waterloo
Doctoral advisorUmesh Vazirani

Scott Joel Aaronson (born May 21, 1981)[1] is a theoretical computer scientist and faculty member in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Education

He obtained his B.Sc. in computer science from Cornell University in 2000,[2] and his Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley in 2004, under the supervision of Umesh Vazirani.[3]

Career

After postdoctorates at the Institute for Advanced Study and the University of Waterloo, he took a faculty position at MIT in 2007.[2] His primary area of research is quantum computing and computational complexity theory more generally.

Popular work

He is a founder of the Complexity Zoo wiki, which catalogs all classes of computational complexity.[4][5] He is the author of the much-read blog "Shtetl-Optimized" as well as the essay Who Can Name The Bigger Number?.[6] The latter work, widely distributed in academic computer science, uses the concept of Busy Beaver Numbers as described by Tibor Rado to illustrate the limits of computability in a pedagogic environment. An article of Aaronson's, "The Limits of Quantum Computers", was published in Scientific American,[7] and he was a guest speaker at the 2007 Foundational Questions in Science Institute conference.[8] Aaronson is frequently cited in non-academic press, such as Science News[9], The Age[10], ZDNet,[11] Slashdot[12], New Scientist[13], The New York Times[14], and Forbes Magazine[15].

Intellectual property

Aaronson was the subject of media attention in October 2007, when he accused an advertising agency of plagiarizing a lecture he wrote on quantum mechanics in an advertisement of theirs.[16] He alleged that a commercial for Ricoh Australia by Sydney-based agency Love Communications appropriated content almost verbatim from the lecture.[17] Aaronson received an apologetic email from the agency in which they claimed to have sought legal advice and did not believe that they were in violation of his copyright. Unsatisfied, Aaronson pursued the matter, and the agency settled the dispute without admitting wrongdoing by making a charitable contribution to two science organizations of his choice.[17]

References

  1. ^ Aaronson, Scott. "Scott Aaronson". Qwiki.
  2. ^ a b CV from Aaronson's web site.
  3. ^ Scott Joel Aaronson at the Mathematics Genealogy Project
  4. ^ Automata, Computability and Complexity by Elaine Rich (2008) ISBN 0132288060, p. 589, section "The Complexity Zoo"
  5. ^ The Complexity Zoo page at Qwiki (a quantum physics wiki, Stanford University)
  6. ^ http://www.scottaaronson.com/writings/bignumbers.html
  7. ^ Aaronson, Scott (February 2008). "The Limits of Quantum Computers". Scientific American.
  8. ^ "Foundational Questions in Science Institute conference". The Science Show. ABC Radio. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  9. ^ Peterson, Ivars (November 20, 1999). "Quantum Games". Science News. 156 (21). Science Service: 334. Retrieved 2008-12-01.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  10. ^ Franklin, Roger (November 17, 2002). "Two-digit theory gets two fingers". The Age. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  11. ^ Judge, Peter (November 9, 2007). "D-Wave's quantum computer ready for latest demo". ZDNet. CNET. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  12. ^ Dawson, Keith (November 29, 2008). "Improving Wikipedia Coverage of Computer Science". Slashdot. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  13. ^ Brooks, Michael (March 31, 2007). "Outside of time: The quantum gravity computer". New Scientist (2597).
  14. ^ Pontin, Jason (April 8, 2007). "A Giant Leap Forward in Computing? Maybe Not". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  15. ^ "Your World View Doesn't Compute". December 12, 2008.
  16. ^ Tadros, Edmund (October 3, 2007). "Ad agency cribbed my lecture notes: professor". The Age. Retrieved 2008-12-01.
  17. ^ a b Tadros, Edmund (December 20, 2007). "Ad company settles plagiarism complaint". The Age. Retrieved 2008-12-01.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scott_Aaronson&oldid=378014034"