Quanta’s Most Popular Computer Science Stories of 2021

Math and Science News from Quanta Magazine View this email in your browser QUANTIZED COLUMNS | ALL TOPICS   What Makes Quantum Computing So Hard to Explain? By SCOTT AARONSON To understand what quantum computers can do — and what they can't — avoid falling for overly simple explanations. Read the column | Watch the video NONLINEAR DYNAMICS   New Quantum Algorithms Finally Crack Nonlinear Equations By MAX G. LEVY Quantum information researchers have tried to use linear equations as a key to unlock nonlinear differential ones for over a decade. Two teams at MIT and the University of Maryland have put that goal within reach. Read the blog ALGORITHMS   Matrix Multiplication Inches Closer to Mythic Goal By KEVIN HARTNETT A recent paper set the fastest record for multiplying two matrices. But it also marks the end of the line for a method researchers have relied on for decades to make improvements. Read the blog   NEURAL NETWORKS   Artificial Neural Nets Finally Yield Clues to How Brains Learn By ANIL ANANTHASWAMY The learning algorithm that enables the runaway success of deep neural networks doesn't work in biological brains, but researchers are finding alternatives that could. Read the article   NEURAL NETWORKS   A New Link to an Old Model Could Crack the Mystery of Deep Learning By ANIL ANANTHASWAMY To help them explain the shocking success of deep neural networks, researchers are turning to older but better-understood models of machine learning. Read the article Follow Quanta Simons Foundation 160 5th Avenue, 7th Floor New York, NY 10010 Unsubscribe | About Quanta Privacy Policy | Terms | Contact Us   Copyright © 2021 Quanta Magazine, an editorially independent division of the Simons Foundation