As a service profession dedicated to democracy and freedom of information, library work does what it can to elevate what it is and how it is seen in the world. There are some problematic pieces to this attitude, which Fobazi Ettarh brilliantly lays out in Vocational Awe and Librarianship: The Lies We Tell Ourselves. While that take is absolutely valid and one I support, I feel there is also staunch rationality in examining one of the primary documents that upholds the ideals of library service and professions and, perhaps, rightfully lends a deserved sense of aweat least in this instanceto libraries and what they stand for. The Library Bill of Rights, developed by the leading professional library association, the American Library Association, in 1939, reports the seven rights and guiding principles in library service. While library users may not be strictly aware of the Library Bill of Rights, knowledge and understanding of the Rights can improve experiences at libraries of library users.

Below are the Rights in their original text taken from the American Library Associations Library Bill of Rights page, accompanied by explanations and examples of how library users might apply them in their own use of their libraries and how things have shaken out in the real world.

Right I: Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

What It Means: A primary purpose of the library, according to Right I, is to provide resources to a group of people in pursuit of meeting the various educational, cultural, and other needs of those people. Library staff working to develop and maintain the collections of their libraries should use data and feedback from the community they serve to inform their purchased and discarded materials. Materials include books, audiobooks, movies and films, databases, and any other materials (yes, cake pans, etc.) the library collects. Staff must use their professionalnot personaljudgment when performing collection development and maintenance. This means that it is up to library users to determine the credibility of the sources they encounter in the library. While library stafflibrarians, generally speakingare trained to offer assistance in finding valid resources when asked, we cannot vouch for every piece within the library (print, digital, or otherwise). We can provide the tools and, to some degree, guidance or training on how to assess resources, but to only select materials for the collection that are verifiably true is not only impossible, but in contrast with this first right.

Category ID: 45597

Category ID: 2822

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Example: The Denver Public Library in Denver, Colorado, like many public libraries, posts their collection development policy on their website. This policy echoes much of the language from the American Library Associations Right I. Right I is, in part, why you may find materials you personally object to in a public library. A library should not, according to Right I, outright object to a new book by Richard Dawkins, for example, simply because of his contentious, controversial, and sometimes offensive views (Wikipedia sums this up nicelyyes, Wikipedia is a legitimate starting point for research; signed, a librarian). They must instead evaluate the material on its own and determine whether the piece meets the interest of the community, regardless of the reason behind that interest. And some people love to hate read, thus providing legitimate interest and, consequently, sufficient reason to collect a given title.

Right II: Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

What It Means: Similar to Right I, Right II explains the responsibility of libraries to offer varying perspectives. This means staff should not collect only materials or resources that hold one point of view. Instead, staff should provide as well-rounded a perspective as possible through the collection of various materials. This allows library users to draw their own conclusions from the evidence presented, as is the case with nonfiction, for example, rather than being led solely by the judgment of the library staff responsible for designing the collection and who certainly have biases of their own.

Example: Many users may believe the inclusion of a book arguing for eugenics, for example, to be abhorrent and to have no place in a library. However, Right II protects the right of that material to exist in the library. From a personal perspective, I find thinking this way about cases like this to be helpful: Having material that argues against your own beliefs allows you to be better informed about the oppositions position, and thus better able to defend your own. This isnt the only reason Right II is important, but it can help soothe the discomfort library users may encounter when they happen upon something they find distasteful or wrong.

Right III: Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

What It Means: In the event a group or individual attempts to have materials or resources removed from the library, the library should resist. Right III is also a natural companion of Rights I and II, as library users are very likely to find, as a result of Rights I and II, materials that are personally or otherwise objectionable to them in a librarys collection. However, regardless of whether a library or its staff agrees or disagrees with a given challenge (say, to a book), it is the librarys responsibility, according to Right III, to thwart attempts to make the material unavailable. This can happen on both macro and micro levels. For example, an individual or group may request that the library remove a title from the collection entirely, making it unavailable for everyone in a macro case. In a micro case, an individual (often, a parent in relation to their child) may request that the library make a title unavailable to another individual. In both cases, the library should resist complying with the request in accordance with Right III. The latter, which can appear to be stickier, can be explained as such: the library cannot act in place of parents and does not have the capacity to allow or disallow particular titles to particular individuals and not others. In the case of a parent and their child, it is the responsibility of the parent to address and manage their childs exposure to materials, not the librarys.

Example: If youve been following library news, you may have heard about a proposed bill in Tennessee that would grant a board of elected officials power to remove materials from a library. The Tennessee Library Association has been standing in opposition to this bill, which would effectively stand in direct contrast to Right III. Challenges to books are, sadly, not uncommon. The American Library Association encourages libraries to report challenges to materials and beyond and, over the years, have compiled data on challenged materials. Certainly not every instance of challenges is reported, however, so despite the lengthiness of the available data, there is more going on than what we see, making Right III incredibly important in combating attempts to abridge access to information and materials.

Right IV: Libraries should cooperate with all persons and groups concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

What It Means: In hand with Right III, Right IV simply requires that libraries work with individuals and organizations whose mission is to prevent censorship and promote freedom of information.

Example: Right IV reads more like a guideline than a right, but would suggest that libraries work with organizations such as the Sunlight Foundation, which advocates for transparency. To prevent censorship and promote freedom of information is broad, however, and certainly does not end with efforts from the Sunlight Foundation. The language of Right IV strikes me with a pause, however, and perhaps suggests things in the world of intellectual freedom are more black and white than they really are. A person or group concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas may easily feel differently if the topic in question is in contrast with their beliefs. We might instead interpret Right IV as if it read Libraries should cooperate with all philosophies and ideas concerned with resisting abridgment of free expression and free access to ideas.

Right V: A persons right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.

What It Means: A central ideal of library service is that the library and its materials and services must be made available to all. It is, however, perhaps less observed than we would like to think as things like library fines, the requirement of a photo ID to obtain a library card (and thus access services, materials, and resources), the physical accessibility of libraries due to lack of transportation or ADA compliance, and a number of other barriers can get in the way of potential user access. There are also, of course, library staff with discriminatory views and biases who may intentionally or unintentionally allow their views and biases to impact the degree and kind of service they offer to different individuals. The idea of Right V, then, is to combat these instances case-by-case and en masse.

Example: Berkeley Public Library has made some adjustments to open access further for homeless customers with a policy that does not require proof of address, a standard that is typical for many public libraries. Still, most public libraries will require some sort of identification to obtain a library card.

Right VI: Libraries which make exhibit spaces and meeting rooms available to the public they serve should make such facilities available on an equitable basis, regardless of the beliefs or affiliations of individuals or groups requesting their use.

What It Means: Exhibit spaces and meeting rooms should be, according to Right VI, treated the same as books, movies, and other traditional library resources and materials. Access to these rooms should not be denied to users for reasons such as conflicting beliefs or identity.

Example: This particular right met a good deal of discussion in summer 2018 when the American Library Association updated its stance around the use of meeting spaces by hate groups. Shortly after scores joined the conversation on- and offline, ALA opted to revert to the previous interpretation of Right VI which, while still fairly broad, does note, However, if a groups actions during a meeting disrupt or harass others in the library, library policies regarding acceptable behavior may apply. Users of the library could theoretically, then, point out that the speech happening as the result of a hate group meeting in the library is, in fact, an act of or an incitement of violence, and therefore harassment of the target of hate. Right VI continues to be a difficult challenge to balance for libraries.

Right VII: All people, regardless of origin, age, background, or views, possess a right to privacy and confidentiality in their library use. Libraries should advocate for, educate about, and protect peoples privacy, safeguarding all library use data, including personally identifiable information.

What It Means: All library users should expect privacy and confidentiality in their use of the library, defined as broadly as possible. This includes their presence in the building, the materials which they access and view, questions they ask of library staff, and any other activity relating to library use. This can again come up against traditional societal standards, particularly in light of parent-child relationships (especially when things like library fines are added to the equationfor example, a parent may wish to know what materials checked out to their childs account accrued fines, but to share this information would, technically, be in violation of Right VII). However, as the Right notes, the right to privacy and confidentiality in library use should not be abridged regardless of any part of the users identity, including age. (Some libraries may get around parts of this issue in their policies by allowing users to list individuals who, perhaps with photo identification, are allowed access to anothers account. This is useful for folks who perhaps are unable to leave their homes and direct a caretaker, for instance, to retrieve their library holds with their consent. Depending on local laws, this becomes more complicated when considering the case of children, who may not be able to legally consent to giving access to their account to another individual.)

Example: The easiest-grab example of Right VII in action is the library response to the 2001 Act of the United States Congress known as the Patriot Act. In response to the Act, libraries resisted and reported government requests for information and some posted signs warning patrons of the implications of the Act in the context of libraries.

Though the Library Bill of Rights may not be a document hanging on the wall of every household, its value to both libraries and library users is undeniable. That said, the discussion above is by no means perfect or exhaustive. The Library Bill of Rights has room for interpretation and that interpretation can easily shift to meet how society evolves over time. Check in with the official Library Bill of Rights every now and then and keep a finger to the pulse of library news to see how different libraries take the Rights and implement themor notin their own communities.

Next time you visit your library, do a little observing: How does your library match up to the Rights? Are there policies or other aspects of the library that could be better aligned with the document? Did any of the rights surprise you? Check in with us on Twitter to let us know.

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The Library Bill of Rights: What They Are and What They Mean for You - Book Riot

Herman Hesses proposal of life through self-discovery in Siddhartha is appealing, yet somewhat problematic, Andreas Charidemou writes.

Content Note: This article contains brief mention of suicide.

Your soul is the whole world, Siddhartha pondered before he began his journey of self-discovery.

Quarantined at home after leaving Cambridge, still shocked by the abrupt end of my second year, I felt rather disillusioned. I sought a read to take my mind off things. My brother recommended Siddhartha; a surprisingly fitting classic by Herman Hesse, which earned him the Nobel Prize in 1946. It takes place in India, and follows the spiritual journey of a young man in the age of Buddha (who cleverly shares his first name), as he attempts to discover a higher state of being, or Weltanschauung of a philosophy of life. The book is short, the prose beautifully written.

The problem does not lie in finding perfection but instead in achieving completion.

Siddhartha begins his life as a Brahmins son, and is on his way to become a promising Hindu priest. However, one day he realizes that his soul has been left unsatisfied by his devotion to duty and religion. He is at a dead end, and leaves home to become Samana, an ascetic monk. By experiencing the extremes of deprivation, he hopes to empty himself completely of all physical desires in order to hear his soul and find peace. This brings him no closer to happiness. Hes reluctantly convinced by his companion Govinda to go and hear the teachings of Gotama Buddha, a man who was said to have achieved the blissful state of Nirvana they are seeking. In one of the book's most iconic passages, Siddhartha encounters and converses with Buddha, then spurns him. After meeting the best teacher the world has to offer, it becomes clear to him that the way of salvation cannot be taught, that words are empty sounds, and that each man must find his own way.

The autobiographical elements of the story are thinly concealed. As young man, Hesse himself rebelled against the orthodoxy of his parents. Afirm believer in self-education, he rejected their strict religious beliefs and ran away to shape his own life. This aligns with the main truth highlighted by the book, which appears to be the impossibility of achieving enlightenment or Nirvana through learning and religion; it is made clear that this can only be reached through self-reliance. This work, alongside Hesse's other novels, were considered the literary gateway drugs of the youth of the 1960s and 1970s, primary symbols of the counterculture. In the wake of two World Wars, the possibility of asserting the meaning of life appealed to many.

Searching for meaning in life through self-discovery and distilling wisdom from experience are wise occupations for the solitary weeks ahead.

In the second part of the book, Siddhartha experiences the material world. As a merchant, he experiences the heights of opulence and becomes the lover of the enchanting courtesan Kamala. Worldly affairs gradually enslave him, making him feel more lost than ever. He abandons everything and is close to committing suicide by drowning in a river, when the mysterious word OM, a Hindu word signifying the essence of the ultimate reality, comes to his mind. Following this revelation, he becomes a ferryman and devotes his life to understanding the secret of the river. The secret appears to be that the concept of time does not exist. The river has no past, no future, no beginning, no end: it is merely present. The protagonist discovers that happiness is real only when causality or time ceases to exist for him. The problem does not lie in finding perfection but instead in achieving completion.

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The Plague : Camuss Ethic of the Ordinary

However, one cannot help but feel frustrated with the inherent arrogance and selfishness attached to the individualistic philosophy of life that Hesse advocates. In order to reach enlightenment, Siddhartha must abandon society entirely, this including his companion and child. His attitude towards humanity is patronizing, belittling; he consistently refers to normal human beings as children. Hesse seems to suggest the fundamental incompatibility of living with people and being authentic, of forming bonds of friendships and remaining true to oneself.

This is a view that I find hard to accept. The parallels between this philosophical position and Hesses own failures as a father, husband and scholar during the rise of Nazism are blatant. Yet perhaps now, at a time when so many of us feel and are isolated against our will, Hesse's words inSiddharthahave a ring of truth. The idea that one should seek meaning in life through self-discovery, distilling wisdom from experience, is a wise suggestion for the solitary weeks ahead.

Varsity is the independent newspaper for the University of Cambridge, established in its current form in 1947. In order to maintain our editorial independence, our newspaper and news website receives no funding from the University of Cambridge or its constituent Colleges.

We are therefore almost entirely reliant on advertising for funding, and during this unprecedented global crisis, we have a tough few weeks and months ahead.

In spite of this situation, we are going to look at inventive ways to look at serving our readership with digital content for the time being.

Therefore we are asking our readers, if they wish, to make a donation from as little as 1, to help with our running cost at least until we hopefully return to print on 2nd October 2020.

Many thanks, all of us here at Varsity would like to wish you, your friends, families and all of your loved ones a safe and healthy few months ahead.

Continued here:
Siddhartha: Hesse's guide to a meaningful self-isolation - Varsity Online

Not only does the forest operate on the principle of abundance for all and communal resource sharing to maintain health and vitality; the forest has also evolved since Devonian days to optimize for the production and exchange of these resources. There lives a lot of wisdom in the forest. Depending on the age of the tree and their position/role in the canopy communitythe production, use, and exchange of resources has ecologically evolved (via natural selection) to optimize energy and access to resources. So, this part of the trees story seems best told in a life linear wayfrom the time the tree was just a seed until it grew to be quite old and gray.

The Seedling

Beginning with the beginning of life, the seed- whether literally blasting forth from a heated (serotinous) cone or traveling in the gut of a bird or a squirrel who calls the tree home; or following the wind currents of a maple wing on the winds of a prayer, the self-sustaining seed will finally find ground to settle somewhere. Quite a miracle indeed, the seed contains all the energy and nutrient resources, to sprout life below ground that it would need. And imagine this, many trees will mass coordinate their seeding and fruiting activity as a forestall for one and one for all all at the right spring time (or if the species only fruits every few years, all in the same year to preserve precious resources in harsh or limited environmental conditions), when the light and seasonal conditions are prime. Why? Again, the trees know that we be forest. We are family and when we all thrive, the forest stays alive.

That said, competition among individuals is healthy and clear; especially for a tree in its younger year. Thus, the sapling generation is naturally driven to the light and races to the top of the canopy to compete for that spotlight. But along the way as they grow, they benefit the forest, greatly you know, because they photosynthesize and breathe back, feeding the forest at this age the most and strengthening the tree tribe from an infection or bark beetle attack. Then, reaching the age of maturity, the adult trees become increasingly more careful in balancing their photosynthetic flush and belly-bole (tree trunk) outgrowth in order to optimize the ratio between offensive nutrition intake and forest green out-take with wind resistant stems. There is a reason that philosopher kings from Plato to Buddha to Jesus to Mohammed taught under the tree and found enlightenment there. Trees exude wisdom. They intuitively know that to live long and leave a legacy they need a robust, insect resilient, fire retardant, bark protected tree stem and a sufficient canopy of green biomass to feed the whole tree ecosystem of roots or shoots or mycelia connected living plants and critters or reproductive cones and flowers that the tree gifts food, water, oxygen, and shelter against snow showers.

Somehow coded in the DNA and genes of that small forest seed, the mature tree intuitively knows that natural disturbances are part of the forest life game, so ensures it has just enough resource to thwart an infection or infestation or storm or forest fire, aflame. Thus, as the tree gets older and becomes an elder, she will now grow very slow (if at all), knowing that not every vital phloem cell will flow with that essential sap to repair any branch gap due to a thunderous lightning clap. The good news is that with this accumulated age and experience all lived in one place comes the accumulated history and wisdom that no younger tree or forest visitor can replace. Knowledge over time from navigating a natural disturbance sheltering in placea fire, a flood, or a storm, gives the tree (and all who listen to thee) a distinct advantage to keep protected and more resilient against any future threat the tree or forest of family might face.

Then my favorite tree efficiency story lies within its core. Eager to hear more? Well, as most trees mature and have reached quite a nice height to establish a healthy green canopy and absorb sufficient sunlight; they slow their growth upward and begin to spin, within. Essentially, mature treesthe enlightened ones, build resilience with reduced cells and resources by a twist of the stems wristand in that way, they avoid the chronic old age stems hunched over forward list. But, they dont just randomly twist. In order to semi-retire in their elder years and still resist the wind; there is a specific pattern and precise motion to optimize the trees altered mature state and magic tensile strength potion. Many subalpine trees as from my ecology studies I recall, twist each outer plant cell wall, 23.50. I also believe this degree for the tree may even be aligned with Fibonaccis natural law, but you should check me and see. Anyway, astute urban architects, planners, and developers (e.g. Vanke, the largest real estate developer in China) who have studied the forest have succeeded brilliantly in constructing sky scrapers copied from lifes play book on optimizing tensile strength to resist earthquakes and wind storms in cities like; Dubai, London, San Francisco, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai from tree to tree and sea to sea, incidentally making billions of dollars off natures intelligence for free. Then further imagine, what if we built the buildings of our future cities as functioning forests, entirely? Dickson Depommier (senior counsel to Aerofarms and educator at Columbia University) has already mapped out New York with his graduate students from Columbia University and developed a new 100-year forest development plan for the entire city. As now many companies and banks realize during COVID-19 that they can work virtually, world centers of commerce might also aim to reset cities that optimize also a carbon neutrality and greater energy efficiency gain. If we drawdown over 30% of global atmospheric carbon by protecting standing tree forests (896.2 GT of CO2), then how much more carbon could we save if we cut the construction sectors carbon budget (23% of the total GHG) in half by literally building a forest of urban tree buildings? Isnt that another COVID-19 recovery and future-proofing point for team Tree? And finally (for now), what if we could make these new wood buildings singno kidding, but actually YES produce food, on every commercial building floor in a separate wing? This is Aerofarms vision, which is already a lucrative business, present reality, and huge win for team agriculture, looking to reduce their carbon emissions and feed the world, too.

Dedication to the 1 Trillion Trees Project

There are a little over 3 trillion trees on the planet. Thats about 400/person; but as I said earlier, its 50% less than we had before cities. How can we biodivert cities and return nature to the heart of our human civilization? What can we do to bring nature back to you? And, the first super-simple, super-easy, super-techno thing you can do is to shift your search engine from Google to Ecosia. Ecosia converts your clicks into virtual coin that they invest in forest restoration and tree planting. Check it out. They just launched and are on their way to planting now 90 million trees. (seems 1/second) Visit One Trillion Trees project

Dedication to the guardians of the forest, Nia Tero

We are all native to planet earth; and yet Indigenous Peoples are the guardians of our vital ecosystems. They embody natures wisdom in their rich cultures, intergenerational communities, and earth connections. They can show us how to recover our Human+Nature health and how to well celebrate our sustainable home. Visit Nia Tero

Dedication to the Mycelia, Fungi Perfecti

Mycelia are the naturally intelligent networks of our planet. As virtual shopping and online purchasing now explodes and spreads virallyalmost as fervently as the corona virus itself; the environmental footprint of packaging likely also sky rockets. The good news is that the problem of unsustainable packaging must be addressed in the new circular economy-driven world we want to emerge into at the other end of CV19. I love all the online shopping one can do for mushroom health and soil composting and citizen science engagement to help re-vitalize bee populations on Fungi Perfecti; but where did the Life Box go???? I can only now find a site for Live Box sports and entertainment streaming.

Dr. Catherine Cunningham, PhD, Natural Intelligence Media is committed to awakening Natural Intelligence in the World. She produces multimedia content books, films, and podcasts with her creative companions that aim to inspire everyone, everywhere to live a happy, healthy, naturally intelligent life.

Visit our Natural Intelligence Website HERE.

Participate in our Combatting COVID-19 with Compassion Heart Campaign HERE

Listen to my Naturally Intelligent by Design Podcast, featuring strategies from animals in our world to adapt to disruptive environmental change. HERE

Listen to our Natural Intelligence Worldwide Podcast HERE.

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The Tree's Truth: Conserve Resources - Thrive Global

What is a secure attachment style? Why is it important for caregivers to establish secure attachment bonds with children? How does secure attachment impact childrens psycho-emotional development? What are some signs of attachment security in a partner? Insights on how we can develop it, and how we can teach it to our children?

What is the most simple definition of a healthy or secure attachment style?

Attachment security is a set of deeply held expectations that the world is a mostly safe place to explore, and when its not safe, people can be counted on for support and help to cope.

Why is it so important for caregivers to establish secure attachment with their children?

The longer we feel safe when were young, the more time we have to develop. As human beings, our greatest strength and our greatest vulnerability is our extraordinarily powerful brains. Our brains are so big and powerful that we need years, if not decades, after being born to fully develop our minds. While there are some caveats and exceptions, it is generally true that with more time, freedom, and safety allotted to us, we are more likely to develop more flexible, resourceful, and lovable versions of ourselves.

How does secure attachment impact childrens psycho-emotional development?

Attachment security at the age of one year, has been associated with so many positive outcomes later in life that it would be impossible to summarize them in a brief answer. But there is a fascinating aspect of socio-emotional development that Id like to emphasize here.

Our brains are amazingly adaptive, and this presents some confusion when thinking about attachment security. The earlier a vulnerable child is exposed to real danger, the quicker that child will develop extraordinary adaptations to survive typically a hypervigilant, self-reliant relationship to the environment.

Some of the toughest and most rugged achievers in life come from early experiences of hardship. The problem is that early disruptions come at the cost of flexibility. Early disruptions, especially abuse and neglect, tend to result in adaptations that are more fixed and more desperately held on to.

Environments where emotion-regulation in parents creates a tense, intrusive, or less responsive environment, early adaptations are similarly rigid, but more focused on adapting to the parent than to the external environment. This type of adaptation typically leads to unhealthy codependency later in life.

Secure attachment allows for a more flexible shift between figuring out the parent, figuring out the environment, and the amazing benefits of completely self-absorbed play and exploration.

What are the most common signs that caregivers are securely attached with their children?

The most reliable marker of a secure attachment between parent and child is the overall ease and flow in the way the parent and child relate to each other. Does the child explore freely? Does the parent tense up, or watch vigilantly when the child explores? Does the parent trust the child? Does the child appear to trust the parent? Is the parent negligent, then punitive when the child finds trouble? If the parent is either anxious or overwhelmed, the relationship is less likely secure. If there is mutual trust, with the parent offering just the support the child needs no more, no less then the relationship is more likely to be secure.

Can you briefly contrast secure attachment with avoidant, anxious, and disorganized attachment styles?

The hallmark of attachment is flexibility in attention. Its natural for kids to get upset and cry when they get hurt, disappointed, or feel alone. A securely-attached child shows the full range of emotions fear, anger, sadness, joy, etc. but returns to a baseline emotional state once the child gets comfort from a parent.

The avoidant attachment pattern can be confusing because the child can seem well-adjusted and stoic, seemingly unaffected by a harsh environment. Internal physiology tells a different story namely that the child is under tremendous stress. The defining characteristics of avoidance in children is a detached, impassive response to environmental stress along with no attempt to seek comfort from a caregiver. In adulthood, this correlates with a dismissive attitude, a devaluation of relationships, and an attitude of not needing to rely on others.

An anxious-resistant, or anxious-preoccupied attachment pattern, is one in which the child is hyper-emotional under stress, seeks proximity to the caregiver, yet is neither soothed by the parents efforts to comfort the child, nor welcoming of the parents attempts to reassure the child. In adults this attachment pattern maps onto pathological dependency, where the person cant get over an angry preoccupation with the parent, or remains in a defiantly passive state.

Disorganized behavior is harder to describe, because its defined by the lack of a clear strategy of regulating attachment-related distress. Insecure-avoidant and insecure ambivalent-patterns may not be optimal, but they are still coherent patterns. Disorganization can take many forms, like an uncoordinated crashing into a parent, or falling into a dissociated, sleep-like trance. Theoretically, the disorganized attachment pattern, identified and described by Mary Main, as being an individualized response to fright without a solution. That is, the caregiver is the cause of the distress and thus inaccessible as a source of comfort.

What are some of the main consequences for children who are not securely attached with their caregivers?

I often think of development being like research its exploratory, built upon curiosity, and requiring tightly controlled conditions. Attachment insecurity is like trying to do this research in highly inhospitable conditions, like reading a textbook in a nightclub, or trying to conduct a rigorous chemical experiment in the back of a moving garbage truck. Can it be done well? Sureespecially with abundant innate intelligence. Is it likely to turn out well? Probably not.

The negative consequences of distracted development could be just about anything throughout the lifespan, including addiction, cancer, broken bones, depression, chronic mental illness, anxiety, diabetes, attention-deficit disorder, and any other physical or psychosocial impairment. Of course, I am speaking in terms of probability. A child who is insecurely attached could have many or none of these issues.

What are some signs that an adult partner has a secure attachment style in a relationship?

The way attachment patterns are assessed, whether by the Strange Situation Paradigm in childhood, or by the Adult Attachment Interview in adulthood, is by stressing the attachment system. So in relationships, signs of security and insecurity are most apparent in times of conflict. One sign of insecurity is extreme anxiety and rage thats not easily soothed, particularly around abandonment fears. On the other side of the spectrum, insecurity can take the form of a cold, detached, distance that is likely to evoke uncharacteristically strong abandonment fears in you, the partner.

Security can be thought of as the Goldilocks zone in between these extremes. A secure individual has moments of intense emotions and/or emotional remoteness. However, security is marked by an ability to move out of these states without too much time and destructiveness when attempts are made to repair a rupture in the relationship. Most of the time, the secure individual is better able to modulate emotions, meaning the hot emotionality is not scalding hot, and the cool withdrawals are not sub-zero chills.

The most common among dysfunctional dynamics are when an individual pursues redemption from childhood emotional damage by trying to thaw an icy, dismissive partner, or when one member of a couple attempts to heal early wounds by trying to cool down a partner who frequently boils over.

Extremely hot-tempered (usually, borderline personality organization) and the reciprocal cold-blooded personality types (often narcissistic) love to find each other for precisely these reasons.

What is the best way to develop secure attachment if you didnt receive it as a child?

Finding the right therapist is the best way I know. The therapeutic alliance is one of the most robust predictors of change in psychotherapy research. While its probably reductionistic to consider a therapist simply a more reliable attachment figure, forming an open, trusting, and meaningful relationship with a benevolent expert certainly can help promote a secure internal working model.

However, finding healthier relationships than the ones that are familiar, can help move a person in the direction of security. One key marker of resilience is the capacity to find mentors, friends, teachers, clergy members, etc. who can help a person have corrective emotional experiences. Anyone, whether classified as secure or insecure, can become more secure with relationships that provide support while increasing/maintaining feelings of autonomy and self-reliance, can help increase our feelings of wellbeing, reduce anxiety, and promote personal growth in a multiplicity of domains of life.

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What is secure attachment? - Thrive Global

He watched, supported, and cheered as Tagovailoa set the college football world on fire in 2018. Hurts never pouted, and his patience paid off when he rallied the Tide to a win over Georgia in the SEC title game after Tagovailoa was injured.

Hurts left Tuscaloosa after that season and landed in Norman, Okla., as a graduate transfer, hoping to lead Lincoln Rileys high-flying Sooner offense. He had big shoes to fill as the previous two Oklahoma starting QBs, Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray, had been drafted No. 1 overall.

Hurts was impressive from the moment he stepped on campus, powering the Sooners to the BCS playoffs his fourth straight trip and finishing second in the Heisman race to LSUs Joe Burrow.

I think being able to adjust, continuing to adjust, and adjust to the differences where Coach Riley presents himself and how he teaches his stuff, said Hurts, who was quickly named one of the teams four captains. It was very different from what I was used to, so the biggest deal for me, I didnt know Coach Riley, but I was there for 11 months. So, trusting him, trusting his system, watching film of those past two guys, and just trying to put myself in the best situation to educate. I think we made a lot of explosive plays on offense, presented the defenses with different fits with the ability to run the ball from the quarterback position. I know it was very lethal.

Through the ups and downs of the last four years, Hurtss confidence never wavered. Instead, he channeled the adversity into strength.

All of it made me better. All of it has made me stronger, a better man, a wiser man. A better leader, said Hurts. Again, in two programs, its tough. To having to adjust to different players and just being respected to where every team Ive been on has followed me regardless of the position of where I came from I dont go into any place trying to be something Im not, force it, say, Hey, yall got to follow me It doesnt work like that. Especially in this business Im about to get into. Im a grown man. I can just be the best version of myself, working hard, being who I am. I think real recognizes real. Ive got that effect sometimes, and they follow me.

Hurtss attitude, leadership, and mental toughness are reasons the Patriots could be tempted to take a chance on him to compete for their quarterback vacancy.

In addition, he has excellent physical skills.

Hurtss production during college read like video game numbers, including 9,477 passing yards and 80 touchdowns to go along with 3,274 rushing yards and 43 TDs.

While some had suggested the 6-foot-1-inch, 222-pounder might be better suited to play running back or receiver in the NFL, Hurts showed during the combine that his future is at quarterback.

Watching Hurts throw during the drills in Indianapolis, he looked confident with his footwork and threw the ball with decent accuracy and impressive distance. He clearly favored throwing to his right, but with some coaching and work, that will improve.

Comparisons to New Orleanss jack-of-all-trades QB Taysom Hill are logical because both players have special skill sets that allow them to be productive from a variety of spots.

Having Hurts in Foxborough could be a win-win, as he would not only push Jarrett Stidham and Brian Hoyer for the starters job, he could also boost the offense by appearing in specialty packages designed by Josh McDaniels.

Jim McBride can be reached at james.mcbride@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @globejimmcbride.

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NFL Draft: Why Oklahomas Jalen Hurts is an intriguing quarterback option for the Patriots - The Boston Globe

It took the coordinated effort of multiple embassies, two plane rides and a 16-hour layover in Helsinki for Thomas Dennerby to get home.

The repatriation flight on March 31 needed the involvement of the embassies of Sweden, Finland and other Baltic states, according to Dennerby, the coach of the India under-17 womens football team that was supposed to debut in the age-specific World Cup at home in November. The meet stands postponed due to the covid-19 pandemic and Fifa has not yet announced the new dates.

During these times everyones families need them as much as they need their families. It is important to be home. The current crisis allows everyone to see life from a larger perspective, said the Swede in an interview over e-mail. From Goa, Dennerby, 60, said he flew to Helsinki and then to Stockholm after a long stopover. The flying time from Goa to Helsinki is 16 hours. The arrangements were fine and we flew safe, he said.

The break is nothing to be worried about. Under the current situation, human lives are priority and it was natural that all footballing activities would be postponed, said Dennerby, who was appointed in November, 2019 after a stint with Nigeria whom he took to the 2019 Womens World Cup and made them African champions in 2018.

The 32 players in the preparatory camp were on a break since March 13 and were scheduled to resume training on April 1. Had plans not been mothballed they would have been in Europe this month. Most likely we would have been playing a tournament in Slovenia (in April) and maybe also in Italy (in May), Dennerby, a former midfielder with Stockholms Hammarby IF, said.

We have been working hard in camps (in Goa) but the real test is when you get to play quality opponents.

On return from Europe, the squad would have trained in Goa with specific focus on tactics. The camps in Goa were to be tough and they were to be backed by matches against tougher international opponents. This is the World Cup and we need to be merciless.

Dennerby said the players improved rapidly at first but the pace slowed as they got better. When you get better again its tougher to take the next few steps. We would have been ready in November anyway (but) the extra time (due to the deferment) could be an advantage.

Especially since mental strength is a work in progress for the team, said Dennerby.

Our search is on for mentally tough characters who can be super confident in front of so many spectators. You cannot develop than in an instant. Rather, we have been propagating it through our training regimes and off the field. The girls are getting to that level, they are getting closer, he said.

Coaches and athletes across disciplines have spoken of the forced break leading to a dip in fitness levels but Dennerby isnt throwing his weight behind that lot. I am not worried at all. The girls have been given individual programmes. Their attitude has been fantastic. I get their numbers (data) on my laptop and mobile phone. They are doing really good. Fitness-wise there wont be any dip at all, he said.

Asking India to be safe, practice hygiene and social distancing, Dennerby said it is important to stay positive now.

Sweden has taken a different approach. You can go to the bars or restaurants but you need to maintain social distancing, he said. He is doing that in a country that is not shut down.

A BBC report said Stockholm night clubs were open and people allowed leave homes after a long winter. However, many are remote working and that there has been a 50% drop in passengers in public transport.

Even though it was Easter, we did not go to visit relatives and friends. We just went to the supermarket to get what we needed. Everyone is waiting for normal life to restart, said Dennerby, who coached Sweden to a third-place finish in the 2011 Womens World Cup. We cannot see anyone around. Its a bit boring but its more important to be safe and help others not to get infected. I look forward to come back to India and kick-off training once again, said Dennerby, who is currently with his wife in the municipality of Tyreso, some 25km from Stockholm.

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Break good to up the mental game, says India U-17 World Cup coach - Hindustan Times

Even as the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic looms large and prisons are becoming dangerous hotspots of contagion, even as the Supreme Court of India directs prisons to release undertrials and convicts on interim bail, even as the Indian nation grinds to a halt following a lockdown, even as hundreds of thousands of migrant workers are stranded and sheltered in schools, there is one thing that no virus appears to be capable of stopping the Indian states persecution of one of Indias foremost intellectuals, Dr Anand Teltumbde.

Why is Teltumbde considered so dangerous by the ruling neoliberal, Hindutva regime?

When violence first broke out at Bhima Koregaon in 2018, the police investigation concentrated on two Hindutva activists Sambhaji Bhide and Milind Ekbote. However, the rightwing forces of the Sangh parivar quickly released a report finding fault with this line of enquiry. They instead falsely accused the Elgar Parishad a collective of progressive Ambedkarite organisations and activists that held the annual mass gathering at Bhima Koregaon of having links with the Maoists.

It is common knowledge that Maoist organisations are banned in India. Why was an Ambedkarite Dalit commemorative event portrayed as a Maoist event? Anyone who has followed the events that have transpired since will clearly understand that such a far-fetched, fraudulent link was made with the sole purpose of targeting Dalits and Ambedkarites, making use of the legal apparatus in its most vicious forms.

Soon, even the word Maoist was dropped and for the sake of garnering great publicity and also to build consensus around the arrest of activists from around the country, the ruling dispensation started deploying the term urban Naxal.

This unique terminology allowed them to carry out their witch-hunt of intellectuals and activists in the cities; anyone with the remotest Leftist sympathies could be hauled into this urban naxal net if needed. This allowed them to concoct a headline grabbing plot alleging that there was a Left-wing conspiracy to assassinate the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. On the basis of this fabricated plot, they have already sent to jail the respected labour lawyer Sudha Bharadwaj, English professor Shoma Sen, advocates Surendra Gadling and Vernon Gonsalves, social activist and researcher Mahesh Raut, journalist Arun Ferreira, editor Sudhir Dhawale, political prisoners rights activist Rona Wilson and celebrated octogenarian Telugu poet Varavara Rao.

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Two more activists were also named in the chargesheet: Anand Teltumbde and journalist-activist Gautam Navlakha, both of whom have been told to surrender to the National Investigation Agency on Tuesday, April 14.

Also read: A Letter to the People of India, on the Eve of My Arrest

The nature of the case and the absurdist fabulous plot has also allowed the police to harass anyone anywhere: a professor in Hyderabad (Dr K. Satyanarayana) and a professor in Delhi (Hany Babu) had their homes searched, their computers trawled for information. Sadly, these might not be the last arrests we see.

Why is Anand Teltumbde being targeted in this vicious manner? Why have the powers-that-be decided that he, along with Gautam Navlakha must go to jail even as the Supreme Court wants prisoners to be released so as to contain the novel coronavirus pandemic?

Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar, has already pointed out that one of the prime reasons behind this targeting is that Teltumbde is a son-in-law of Babasahebs family. The hidden agenda of the BJP-RSS and the cluster of right-wing organisations called the Sangh parivar is to attack the legacy of Babasaheb. Anand Teltumbde neither attended the Bhima Koregaon event, nor was he involved in the organising team, so why is he being singled out for this witch-hunt? This is because of the politics that he articulates, a politics that is anathema to the rightwing, neoliberal regime.

He is one of the followers of Babasaheb who has continuously highlighted the need to fight Hindutva on both the social and economic front. One the one hand, he has laid bare the Brahminical anti-social casteist nature of the Sangh parivar, while on the other he has relentlessly attacked the anti-people economic policies of Neoliberal Hindutva. One of his recent publications is titled Republic of Caste: Thinking Equality in the Time of Neoliberal Hindutva. He upholds Ambedkars radical vision of ushering social and economic democracy in India through the annihilation of caste and state socialism.

Related News 5 more deaths, Covid-19 cases in India reach 974

Teltumbde has pointed out the explicit socialist vision of Babasaheb Ambedkar:

I should have from that point of view expected the Resolution to state in most explicit terms that in order that there may be social and economic justice in the country, that there would be nationalisation of industry and nationalisation of land, I do not understand how it could be possible for any future Government which believes in doing justice socially, economically and politically, unless its economy is a socialistic economy(December 17, 1946).

In the same article, he quotes Babasaheb again to emphasise the importance of anti-caste revolution for the success of socialism,

Men will not join in a revolution for the equalisation of property unless they know that after the revolution is achieved they will be treated equally and that there will be no discrimination of caste and creed. The assurance of a socialist leading the revolution that he does not believe in caste, I am sure, will not suffice. The assurance must be the assurance proceeding from much deeper foundation, namely, the mental attitude of the compatriots towards one another in their spirit of personal equality and fraternity.

Furthermore, this programme and doctrine of annihilation of caste alongside socialism is articulated by a scholar from a Dalit background and it is the Dalit-Bahujans who form the majority of Indias de facto working class. This means challenging caste will also present the greatest challenge to untrammelled, exploitative capitalism.

This radical vision of Babasahebs anti-caste socialism is directly antithetical to the RSS-BJPs Neoliberal Hindutva, which wants to thrive on caste, class and gender inequality in society. The targeting of religious minorities is its main weapon to polarise and divide India on communal lines to achieve that regressive end.

Also read: Dont Pity Anand Teltumbde, Pity the System that Incarcerates Him

Right from its genesis, the RSS has worked as the stooge of British imperialism and upholder of Manuvad. When British colonialism was exploiting Indian resources and Indian people for their own interest, RSS chief M.S. Golwalkar had famously uttered at the peak of Indian freedom struggle, Hindus, dont waste your energy fighting the British. Save your energy to fight our internal enemies that are Muslims, Christians, and Communists.

Related News Coronavirus latest update, April 3: Global death toll past 54,000; world economy takes massive hit

It is another matter that patriotic Indians, including Hindus, never listened to anti-national Hindutva and fought British colonialism tooth and nail till the country got independence. In another instance, Golwalkar, praising Manu wrote,

It is this fact which made the first and greatest law giver of the world Manu, to lay down in his code, directing all the peoples of the world to come to learn their duties at the holy feet of the Eldestborn Brahmans of this land.

However, much to the Sanghs discomfort, the constitution of India Article 15, clearly laid out prohibition of discrimination on grounds of religion, race, caste, sex or place of birth.

Also read: Why We Must Defend Anand Teltumbde

Teltumbde belongs to that league of Ambedkarites who stands like a progressive intellectual wall against the neoliberal Hindutva of the RSS-BJP. It is important for the anti-people, RSS-guided Central government to breach this progressive intellectual wall for their forward march towards an unequal, regressive society of Hindutva ridden with caste discrimination, class inequality and patriarchal domination. They want to accelerate this time machine which will take us into the dark ages. For this reason, they have concocted a fake story of Maoist instigated violence and save the Hindutva activists who were behind the Bhima Koregaon violence and falsely implicate the Ambedkarite-led Elgar Parishad.

However, the truth will eventually prevail. For this reason, it is important that all patriotic Indians must refute this nefarious attempt of the Sangh, using the Modi-Shah led Central government machinery to discredit progressive and egalitarian Ambedkarite intellectuals like Teltumbde.

His planned arrest on Ambedkar Jayanti is a blot on our nation. We demand his immediate release, and we demand the release of all the activists, thinkers and advocates who have been jailed in the Bhima Koregaon case.

Jignesh Mevani is MLA for Vadgam, Gujarat. Meena Kandaswamy is a poet and writer. Her most recent book is Exquisite Cadavers.

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Why Is Anand Teltumbde So Dangerous for the Narendra Modi Government? - India Gone Viral

Researchers in Australia have brought quantum computing up to a bewildering 1.5 Kelvin, which may not sound like much until you consider existing technologies require supercooling to almost absolute zero. These scientists say they can quantum compute in an environment 10 times warmer that costs millions less in expensive supercooling equipment.

In the most common form of quantum computing research, scientists use qubitsquantum bits, which are often a single atom of an element with a carefully controlled electronthat must be cooled, ideally, to absolute zero to achieve superconductivity. Absolute zero is impossible, but scientists can get very, very close, and theyre getting slightly even closer all the time.

Each new step costs more money, and often more lead time, for the supercooled tech to get down to temperature. At Sydneys University of New South Wales (UNSW), researchers have reframed the qubit question in order to make a different paradigm. On a relatively traditional silicon chip, pairs of quantum dots, which are artificial atoms that take the form of microscopic crystals, are arranged and combined with nano-scale magnets to help electrons zoom back and forth.

A second group developed a very similar idea at the same time, in a kind of convergent evolution of quantum computing research. The first and second papers, published simultaneously in Nature, both represent results on an underlying silicon technology UNSW says it developed in 2014.

A Quantum Leap in the Classical World

Google Claims They've Achieved Quantum Supremacy

The Best Look Yet at Our Quantum Internet Future

Using an almost consumer-ready silicon chip means the qubits can be manufactured through established factory channels. While the temperature is the big breakthrough here, the production-friendly tech is also a huge advantage.

Cooling a traditional quantum computer to near absolute zero is already costly, but thats just the beginning. Every qubit pair added to the system increases the total heat generated, and added heat leads to errors, lead researcher Andrew Dzurak said in a statement. Thats primarily why current designs need to be kept so close to absolute zero.

Its also why quantum computers are still so tiny. The cheapest desktop PC we could find on a leading consumer electronics site has an Intel Celeron processor (yes, really!), and this 22-year-old CPU technology could hold several entire quantum computers in just a single container of bits passing through in a fraction of a second. For quantum computers to really both surpass traditional CPUs and reach their promised potential, they need to get huge compared to what researchers are putting together today.

From UNSW's statement:

Turning a handful of bits into millions is dauntingbut its much less so at 1.5 Kelvin than it is at absolute zero. And during the next 10 years, many more barriers are likely to come down.

Continue reading here:

Hot Qubits Could Deliver a Quantum Computing Breakthrough - Popular Mechanics

Pixabay

PsiQuantum is a little-known quantum computing startup, however it recently had no trouble raising almost a quarter of a billion dollars from Microsoft's M12 venture fund and other investors. That is in addition to a whopping $230 million it received last year from a fund formed by Andy Rubin, developer of the Android operating system.

The company was founded in 2016 by British professor Jeremy OBrien and three other academics, Terry Rudolph, Mark Thompson, and Pete Shadbolt. In just a few years, they have quietly grown the company from a few employees to a robust technical staff of more than 100.

Compared to today's modest quantum computing capabilities, PsiQuantum's elevator pitch for investors sounds like a line from a science fiction movie.O'Brien not only says he is going to build a fault-tolerant quantum computer with a staggering one million qubits, he also says he is going to do it within five years.O'Brien's technology of choice for this claim is silicon photonics, which uses particles of light called photons to perform quantum calculations. Theoretically, photons behave as both waves and particles,but that's a subject for another article.Quantum computing technologies in use today are primarily superconductors and trapped ion. However, there is plenty of research that shows photonics holds a lot of promise.

A look at qubit technologies

While classical computers use magnetic bits to depict ones and zeros for computation, quantum computers use a variety of other technologies to make quantum bits called qubits.

PsiQuantum's objective to build a quantum computer with a million qubits is a colossal undertaking. For perspective, today's biggest and best quantum computers have less than 100 qubits. Even that number stretches the limits of present-day quantum science.Google recently achieved quantum supremacy by performing a difficult computational task in a matter of seconds that would have taken a classical computer thousands of years to complete. Moreover, it only took a mere 54 qubits for that historic achievement.

I asked Robert Niffenegger, a research scientist at MIT Lincoln Labs, for his thoughts on PsiQuantum and its goal of a million qubits.Niffenegger said, "By setting a goal of a million qubits they emphasize that scale and integration are the only path forward and flaunt the fact that existing nano-photonics based on CMOS fabrication technologies is able to fabricate thousands of optical components on a single chip. However, even if they had very high-performance photonics on a single photonic chip the size of a wafer,that would at best get you maybe thousands of qubits."

Superconducting qubits

Superconducting qubits, the most commonly used technology for quantum computing, are the foundation of those built by Google, Intel, IBM, and Rigetti.The devices are basically small coils fabricated on chips that resemble those found in classical computers.

Optical and SEM images of a transmon qubit

Quantum effects kick in when the coils are cooled to a few degrees above absolute zero and become superconductors. At that temperature, current flows resistance free in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction and represents either a one or a zero or a superposition of everything between one and zero.

Superconducting qubits can be manufactured using existing chip fabrication techniques. A few drawbacks with superconducting qubits include:

1.)they lose their quantum states quickly, limiting the number of sequential calculations that can be performed on a problem.

2.)they can only connect to their nearest qubit neighbor. Several connections are needed to reach a distant qubit, much like steppingstones placed across a stream.Unfortunately, those extra connections slow down calculations and limit the complexity of problems that can be solved.

Trapped ion qubits

Trapped ions are the oldest qubit technology, dating back to the 1990s.Honeywell and IonQ are the most prominent commercial users of trapped ion qubits.Atomic clocks also use trapped-ion technology.

String of 14 trapped and entangled ions

Honeywell and IonQ use qubits formed from an isotope of rare-earth metal called ytterbium, although other materials can also be used. Precision lasers remove an outer electron from an atom of ytterbium to create an ion. Lasers are also used like tweezers to move ions around. Once in position, oscillating voltage fields hold the ions in place.

Compared to superconducting qubits, ions maintain their quantum states for a very long time. The longer a quantum state can be maintained, the more complex of a computation can be performed. Honeywell leveraged this attribute and recently announced it would have the world's most powerful quantum computer when its 8-qubit trapped ion machine is released in a few months.

Using light to make qubits

Instead of using coils or ions as qubits, PsiQuantum plans to build its quantum computer using single particles of light, called photons.

A photon can be vertically polarized to represent a one, or horizontally polarized as a zero, or even diagonally polarized to represent a superposition of both one and zero.

PsiQuantum's secret sauce is a 2009 research paper written by its founder, Jeremy OBrien.This research and other quantum tricks allow qubits to be encoded by photons traveling at the speed of light.

11.5 billion light-years away. Glowing hydrogen gas in the blob is in the Lyman-alpha optical image ... [+] ( yellow). On the right, a galaxy located in the blob is visible in a broadband optical image (white) and an infra-red image (red)

A significant advantage of photon qubits is that they maintain their quantum states for a very long time. Photons from distant stars and galaxies travel for thousands and even billions of years before reaching our eyes. A good example is a Lyman-alpha blob.Photons from the blob are still polarized in their original state when they reach earth after traveling for 11.5 billion years.

In addition to PsiQuantum, several other research groups are trying to figure out how to scale up photonic computers to more qubits.However, unlike PsiQuantum, none have a stated goal of a million qubits.

6 m diameter carbon filament, compared to 50 m diameter human hair

A photon qubit is very small.It has a wavelength of about one-millionth of a meter (m). In some ways, a photon's small size is an advantage, but in other ways its size creates obstacles that PsiQuantum must overcome to reach a million qubits.

Photons travel at the speed of light (after all, they are particles of light ), and that makes them very hard to control.

Imagine trying to manipulate something the size of a virus as it zips past you at a speed of 300,000,000 meters per second. Unlike superconducting qubits that are fixed in place and ions that remain stationary, photons are always in motion. It will be challenging to juggle the state of millions of blazing fast photons while simultaneously trying to read, control, and manipulate each one of them.

Observations and conclusions

Here are my thoughts and conclusions from an analyst's perspective:

1.PsiQuantum claims it will be able to do things in five years that many quantum experts predict will take 7 to 10 years or more to accomplish.

2.Silicon photonics appears to be a promising technology to build a quantum computer capable of solving complex problems that are far beyond the capabilities of classical supercomputers.Niffenegger also shared his thoughts on this: "I believe they [PsiQuantum] do have a path to becoming the 'supreme' heavyweight champion of the quantum crown, and I think that if they publish some smaller-scale demonstrations, then other people will start to believe it too."

3.Having Microsoft as a strategic investor will provide PsiQuantum with access to many critical resources needed to build a silicon photonic quantum computer.

4.Error correction is a significant quantum computing problem for every present-day qubit technology.According to publicly available information, PsiQuantum places a great deal of emphasis on error correction.That means a large portion of the million-qubit goal will likely be devoted to monitoring and correcting errors.For today's error prone qubits, it is estimated that thousands of error correcting qubits are required for every computation qubit.

5.Even ifPsiQuantum is only able to produce a thousand error corrected qubits, they will have created a fault-tolerant quantum computer that might change the world. It could create new drugs, design new materials, model DNA, and make thousands of other major scientific, medical, and commercial breakthroughs.

6.Remember, Microsoft had similar optimistic goals as PsiQuantum when it began research on a topological quantum computer.That was a decade ago. Tangible results today: zero.

PsiQuantum has made some outrageous claims that I believe will end in one of two ways. Either the company revolutionizes the space or flames out like few startups have flamed out flushing its investors time and money down the drain.

Note: Moor Insights & Strategy writers and editors may have contributed to this article.

Disclosure: Moor Insights & Strategy, like all research and analyst firms, provides or has provided paid research, analysis, advising, or consulting to many high-tech companies in the industry, including Amazon.com, Advanced Micro Devices, Apstra,ARM Holdings, Aruba Networks, AWS, A-10 Strategies, Bitfusion,Cisco Systems, Dell, DellEMC, Dell Technologies, Diablo Technologies, Digital Optics, Dreamchain, Echelon, Ericsson, Foxconn, Frame, Fujitsu, Gen Z Consortium, Glue Networks, GlobalFoundries,Google,HPInc., Hewlett Packard Enterprise, HuaweiTechnologies,IBM, Intel, Interdigital, Jabil Circuit, Konica Minolta, Lattice Semiconductor, Lenovo, Linux Foundation, MACOM (Applied Micro), MapBox, Mavenir, Mesosphere,Microsoft,National Instruments, NetApp, NOKIA, Nortek,NVIDIA, ON Semiconductor, ONUG, OpenStack Foundation, Panasas, Peraso, Pixelworks, Plume Design, Portworx, Pure Storage,Qualcomm, Rackspace, Rambus, Rayvolt E-Bikes, Red Hat, Samsung Electronics, Silver Peak, SONY, Springpath, Sprint, Stratus Technologies, Symantec, Synaptics, Syniverse, TensTorrent, Tobii Technology, Twitter, Unity Technologies, Verizon Communications,Vidyo, Wave Computing, Wellsmith, Xilinx, Zebra, which may be cited in this article.

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Quantum Computing With Particles Of Light: A $215 Million Gamble - Forbes

Boffins claim to have found path to 'real-world applications' by running hot

Dr Henry Yang and Professor Andrew Dzurak: hot qubits are a game-changer for quantum computing development. Pic credit: Paul Henderson-Kelly

Scientists in Australia are claiming to have made a breakthrough in the field of quantum computing which could ease the technology's progress to affordability and mass production.

A paper by researchers led by Professor Andrew Dzurak at Sydney's University of New South Wales published in Nature today says they have demonstrated quantum computing at temperatures 15 times warmer than previously thought possible.

Temperature is important to quantum computing because quantum bits (qubits) the equivalent classical computing bits running the computer displaying this story can exist in superconducting circuits or form within semiconductors only at very low temperatures.

Most quantum computers being developed by the likes of IBM and Google form qubits at temperatures within 0.1 degrees above absolute zero or -273.15C (-459.67F). These solid-state platforms require cooling to extremely low temperatures because vibrations generated by heat disrupt the qubits, which can impede performance. Getting this cold requires expensive dilution refrigerators.

Artistic representation of quantum entanglement. Pic credit: Luca Petit for QuTech

But Dzurak's team has shown that they can maintain stable "hotbits" at temperatures up to 15 times higher than existing technologies. That is a sweltering 1.5 Kelvin (-271.65C). It might not seem like much, but it could make a big difference when it comes to scaling quantum computers and getting them one step closer to practical applications.

"For most solid-state qubit technologies for example, those using superconducting circuits or semiconductor spins scaling poses a considerable challenge because every additional qubit increases the heat generated, whereas the cooling power of dilution refrigerators is severely limited at their operating temperature. As temperatures rise above 1 Kelvin, the cost drops substantially and the efficiency improves. In addition, using silicon-based platforms is attractive, as this can assist integration into classical systems that use existing silicon-based hardware," the paper says.

Keeping temperature at around 1.5 Kelvin can be achieved using a few thousand dollars' worth of refrigeration, rather than the millions of dollars needed to cool chips to 0.1 Kelvin, Dzurak said.

"Our new results open a path from experimental devices to affordable quantum computers for real-world business and government applications," he added.

The researchers used "isotopically enriched silicon" but the proof of concept published today promises cheaper and more robust quantum computing which can be built on hardware using conventional silicon chip foundries, they said.

Nature published another independent study by Dr Menno Veldhorst and colleagues at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands which details a quantum circuit that operates at 1.1 Kelvin, confirming the breakthrough.

If made more practical and cheaper, quantum computers could represent a leap forward in information science. Whereas the bit in classical computing either represents a one or a zero, qubits superimpose one and zero, representing both states at the same time. This creates an exponential improvement in performances such that so eight qubits theoretically have two to eight times the performance of eight bits. For example, Google and NASA have demonstrated that a quantum computer with 1,097 qubits outperformed existing supercomputers by more than 3,600 times and personal computers by 100 million.

While the experimental nature and cost of quantum computing means it is unlikely to make it into any business setup soon, anything to make the approach more practical could make a big difference to scientific computational challenges such as protein folding. The problem of how to predict the structure of a protein from its amino acid sequence is important for understanding how proteins function in a wide range of biological processes and could potentially help design better medicines.

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Quantum computing heats up down under as researchers reckon they know how to cut costs and improve stability - The Register