Archive of CRN Home Page Topics for Discussion

Apr. 15, 2005 Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of CRN's Founding - Assessing the Past Decade and Future Challenges Takemochi Ishii, Professor Emeritus of Tokyo University

1. Education adapting from bit to quantum bit The past decade has seen the reign of the bit in the all-powerful digital model of information processing, and digital technology continues to be predominant today. Some young people under a certain age have no experience of the analog technology that existed before the digital revolution. It would seem therefore that the digital model would unquestionably continue its dominance into the 21st century. Nevertheless, it is hardly likely that everything under the sun will turn digital. On the contrary, the digital approach is only appropriate within a surprisingly limited scope. At least, we can say, that in principle it is not suitable for self-reflective logical structures. We should remember that the digital unit of information called the bit is a product of the worldview based on classical physics, that area of study that became a science in the 19th century. In contrast, the quantum bit or qubit is a unit of the quantum universe as conceived by quantum mechanics, a field that emerged in the 20th century, and in 1985, it was found that quantum computers using qubits could attain self-reflection. The qubit appears to be the wave of the future that will realize a new mode of information processing in the 21st century. It is only a matter of time before the shift to the "qubital model" takes place in a wide range of fields, and this will soon require strategies for the future. Education will also experience the effects of this shift, and the past decade may someday seem to have been a transitional stage from the digital to the qubital model. 2. Assessing CRN's Past Decade CRN deserves highly acclaim for having so successfully grasped the significance of the Internet as a tool with expansive potential and for incorporating new concepts on Internet use. As mentioned above, the past decade saw the growth of the digital model of information processing based on the laws of classical physics and its worldview, and an increase in bit volume became a reality. This permitted unique and unprecedented operations, but at the same time, we now see its limitations. We know that "children are the future" and that "children are exchange students from the future." In this sense, CRN's future is one filled with exciting and immense potential. In my assessment of CRN over the past decade, I see that it will have to solve the fundamental structural problem of how to overcome the limitations posed by the bit if it is to make the most of this potential and its future possibilities. 3. Issues for the Coming Decade CRN's long-term aim is to shift completely from a digital to qubital model. Of course, the ideal situation would be to run the information system of the qubital model on a quantum computer, but for the present, the usable hardware is limited to digital computers, which will not always produce the optimal results. Nevertheless, it should be possible to grasp a sort of future psychology from the fundamental issues and through simulation work. In other words, even before a quantum computer is completed, it may be possible to establish what would be the key breakthroughs if a qubital model were employed. Just think about how many aeronautics-related fields were developed and grew during the era of the propeller plane engine prior to the invention of the jet engine, and you will be able to clearly understand the historical significance of the present moment. Let's Talk!

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