Last time, I explained 
why good CI/CD kills 80% of
sci-fi movie plots.

Deploying an untested AI to 
every defense satellite
is not ‘bold leadership'.

Today’s promised topic
is ...

Quantum computers.

My vocabulary 
is tiny.

Zero. Or one.

Classical computers
use bits.
A bit is either 0 or 1.

Put billions of
bits together…

…and you get 
games, 
spacecraft,
databases,
and
this Zebtoon.

What if information 
could behave differently?

Okay. 
Here comes the weird part.

Episode 1 — The Librarian

No.

No.

Still no.

Some problems
become enormously difficult…
…because the number of 
possible answers
grows explosively.

This does not mean classical 
computers check only one thing
at a time.

They can use 
many CPUs, GPUs, and servers.

The problem is
that some search spaces
grow faster than our
available computing 
power.

Even enormous classical 
computing power can be overwhelmed
by certain problems.

Episode 2 — The Qubit

A classical bit is
0 or 1.

A qubit can be
in a quantum state
involving both
possibilities.

The spinning coin
is an analogy.

A qubit is 
not literally
a tiny coin
spinning in space.

Don’t look yet.

Why not?

Because
measuring
changes
what you get.

When we measure
a qubit…

…we receive 
one ordinary result.

Measurement yields 0 or 1.

So you made 
hundreds of copies?

No.

It’s more
complicated.

A qubit is not two readable bits.
Quantum algorithms must work 
with what measurement
allows us to learn.

Episode 3 — The Shy Genie

HEY!

Quantum states are 
extremely sensitive to unwanted
interactions with their environment.

This is called
decoherence.

Decoherence happens when the 
environment destroys the
delicate quantum behavior we need.

Some quantum computers 
operate at temperatures
extremely
close to absolute zero.

My refrigerator is 
colder than
your refrigerator.

Not every 
quantum computer
works 
the same way.

Different qubit technologies
use different physical
approaches.

Quantum information
can be powerful…

…and extremely fragile.

Episode 4 — The Real Trick

So the quantum computer
tries every answer?

Not exactly.

Think less about copies…

…and more about waves.

When waves align, they reinforce each other.

This is constructive interference.

When waves oppose each other, they cancel.

This is destructive interference.

A quantum algorithm carefully
manipulates the quantum state.

It amplifies useful outcomes…

…and suppresses unhelpful ones.

So I do not get to
read every possibility?

Correct.

You get one result
from the quantum state.

Quantum advantage is
not ‘reading all answers at once.

It is using interference to 
make useful results more likely.

Episode 5 — Is It Faster?

So quantum computers
are super fast?

Sometimes.

Can you calculate
two plus two?

Yes.

Faster than
a calculator?

Probably not.

Classical computers are 
extraordinarily good
at classical computing.

Quantum computers
do not replace them.

One major potential application
is simulating molecules and
materials.

Quantum systems are 
kind of my thing

Optimization 
is promising…

…but quantum advantage 
is highly problem-dependent.

Quantum computers are specialized machines.

They may provide large
advantages for particular
problems—not everything.

Episode 6 — The Spooky String

Now for one of 
quantum physics’
strangest features.

Entanglement.

Entangled qubits can show correlations
with no simple classical equivalent.

We got
linked results!

Stronger correlations 
than ordinary classical
intuition expects.

Can I send a 
message instantly?

No.

Entanglement does not 
allow faster-than-light 
communication.

Entanglement is not magic communication.

It is a resource quantum algorithms
can use alongside
superposition and interference.

Episode 7 — The Password

Not every kind of encryption 
faces the same quantum risk.”

AES is a 
well-known example.

Symmetric encryption uses one shared secret key.

Grover’s algorithm can 
speed up unstructured search.

But the improvement 
is quadratic—not magic.

AES with 
a very large key?

Still a very 
bad day for you.

Real attack cost depends on hardware, 
error correction, circuit depth, and more

Episode 8 — The Really Big Problem

Multiplying two huge 
prime numbers is easy.

But recovering 
the original prime factors
from the product
can be extremely 
difficult

Shor’s algorithm
could efficiently
solve factoring

…on a sufficiently
powerful, 
fault-tolerant 
quantum 
computer

This is not ‘every 
password gets cracked.

A sufficiently
powerful 
quantum computer 
could threaten RSA
and 
elliptic-curve
cryptography.

Quantum computers could eventually break 
some mathematical foundations used by
today’s public-key cryptography.

Episode 9 — The Internet Is Preparing

Modern digital life depends on cryptography.

If a cryptographically
relevant quantum
computer arrives…

…some of today’s 
public-key locks
could become
vulnerable.

We knew this
possibility was coming.

Post-quantum cryptography is designed to resist known
quantum attacks.

The hard part
is not just
inventing
new cryptography.

It is upgrading
real systems
safely, worldwide

NIST released its first three
finalized post-quantum
cryptography standards in 2024
and encourages organizations
to begin migration planning.

Episode 10 — The Time Capsule

An attacker may collect encrypted information today…

…even if they cannot decrypt it today.

I can’t read this yet.

But I can keep it.

Later, a powerful quantum computer
might decrypt data that was captured long ago.

This is called ‘harvest now, decrypt later.

It matters most when information
must remain secret for many years.

The possibility of collecting encrypted data now and
decrypting it later is a key reason NIST gives for
transitioning to post-quantum cryptography before
cryptographically relevant quantum computers exist.

Episode 11 — The Laboratory

Can you simulate
this molecule?

This gets 
complicated 
fast.

Quantum mechanics 
is the language
used to describe
molecules.

Quantum systems
are kind of my thing.

Potential benefits include better medicines, 
catalysts, and materials.

Potentially—
not automatically.

Molecular and materials simulation
is one of the most promising 
long-term uses of quantum computing

NIST identifies quantum simulation as a major potential
application area, including for molecules and materials,
while emphasizing that today’s quantum computers are still
rudimentary and error-prone.

Episode 12 — The Delivery Problem

I need efficient routes
for all these deliveries.

The number of possible
routes can become
enormous.

Classical optimization is 
already extremely
sophisticated.

Researchers are 
investigating quantum
approaches to
optimization.

Whether they outperform 
the best classical methods
depends on
the exact problem.

Optimization is promising.

But broad practical quantum advantage 
remains unproven for many real-world cases.

Episode 13 — The Practical 
Quantum Computer Problem

I can do amazing tricks!

Boop.

…for a limited time

A physical qubit
is real hardware.

It can make
errors
while 
storing,
changing,
or measuring
information.

Can’t we just 
make backup copies?

Not in the ordinary way.

Unknown quantum states cannot be perfectly copied at will.

Instead, quantum error
correction uses a carefully
designed group 
of physical qubits.

They detect and 
correct errors
without simply 
reading the protected
quantum information.

Many physical qubits, plus error correction…”

…can create one more reliable logical qubit.

“The challenge is not
only making more qubits.

It is controlling, connecting, 
calibrating, correcting, and
manufacturing them at scale

Near-term error mitigation 
can help extract useful estimates
from noisy experiments.

Fault-tolerant error correction
is what enables long,
reliable algorithms.

When will
quantum computers
become broadly useful?

Progress is real.

But precise timelines
and the first major killer
applications
remain uncertain.

Current quantum processors remain limited by errors;
building fault-tolerant machines requires reliable logical
qubits, error correction, scalable control, and large
system-level engineering advances.

Episode 14 — The Genie Isn’t a Wizard

“A quantum computer is not a machine
that reads every answer at once.

“It is not automatically faster at everything.”

A quantum computer manipulates quantum states…

…so that certain algorithms can 
make useful outcomes more likely.

Your classical
computer 
is really good at 
being a classical
computer.

And I am good at 
a few very weird
special tricks.

The future is probably not classical or quantum.

It is classical and quantum.

I’m not a faster computer.