Quantum Algorithms: Squashing the Exponential
In 1828, a twelve-year-old girl decided that she wanted to fly. She was being looked after by her Governess at the time, while her mother was away receiving treatment for one of her commonly recurring illnesses. While thinking about that immense distance between her and her only remaining parent, it occurred to her. If she were able to fly, she could visit her mother wherever she was in the world in almost no time at all! There was a slight problem though: nobody had ever been able to fly before. No matter, she thought. She would simply have to invent a method of flying all on her own. Powered by a stubborn sense of determination, she set herself to the task of studying the anatomy of birds, then gathered some tools and began constructing a machine to send her into the air. This was a scientific project, and as such it would involve a great deal of experimentation. She cycled through different materials and altered the shape and size of the wings to try to imitate the successful stra