Speaker
Description
The difference between quantum and classical algorithms can be difficult for students to understand, especially when problems being tackled seem abstract and efficiency scaling factors obscure realistic implementation overheads. For introductions and informal education, games provide a way for learners to develop intuition for physical and mathematical concepts by role-playing. We will present an activity that explores the quantum search (Grover’s) algorithm as a player-vs-player board game, where learners role-play as a classical and quantum computer to try to find marked elements as quickly as possible, intended for high-school students and early undergraduates. We will present how the game incorporates fundamental elements of quantum information science like probability, decoherence, quantum error correction, and measurement collapse, how it demonstrates the scaling of the classical and quantum solutions relative to each other, and the limitations of the analogies used in the game. Feedback from workshops using the game with high-school students, undergraduates, and teachers will be presented. All materials are open-source and possible to print at home, with custom 3D-printed die models available. And yes, we will have copies available to play with.
| Keyword-1 | quantum algorithms |
|---|---|
| Keyword-2 | outreach |
| Keyword-3 | games |