<a href="https://analyticsindiamag.com/how-convolutional-neural-networks-are-helping-find-gastrointestinal-bleeding-in-time/">Convolutional Neural Networks </a>have the limitation that they learn inefficiently if the data or model dimension is very large.So,Seunghyeok Oh et al.showed how to make use of quantum computation and CNN to develop a more efficient and outperforming technique that can be applied to solve complex machine learning tasks.This technique which integrates both CNN and quantum computing is referred o as Quantum Convolutional Neural Network(QCNN).In this post, we will have an in-depth understanding of QCNN with its paradigm and applications.The following r the key points to be discussed in this article.

Among many classification models, the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has demonstrated exceptional performance in computer vision. Photographs and other images that reflect the real world have a high correlation between surrounding pixels. The fully-connected layer, which is a fundamental model in deep learning, performed well in machine learning, but there is no way to maintain the correlation. CNN, on the other hand, can directly store correlation information, resulting in a more accurate performance evaluation.

The Standard CNN

CNN works primarily by stacking the convolution and pooling layers. The convolution layer uses linear combinations between surrounding pixels to find new hidden data. The pooling layer shrinks the feature map, lowering the learning resources required and preventing overfitting.  The classification result is obtained using the fully connected layer after the data size has been reduced sufficiently by repeatedly applying these layers. For better results, the loss between the acquired label and the actual label can be used to train the model using a gradient descent method or other optimizers.

Many studies have been published that combine the quantum computing system and the CNN model is capable of solving the problems of the real world which are difficult with machine learning using the Quantum Convolutional Neural Network (QCNN). There is a method for solving quantum physics problems efficiently by applying the CNN structure to a quantum system, as well as a method for improving performance by adding a quantum system to problems previously solved by CNN.  Before proceeding to the QCNN, we first need to understand what is Quantum computing and computation.

Quantum computing is gaining traction as a new way to solve problems that traditional computing techniques can’t solve. Quantum computers have a different computing environment than traditional computers.  Quantum computers, in particular, can use superposition and entanglement, which are not seen in traditional computing environments, to achieve high performance through qubit parallelism. Here qubit is referred to as the quantum bit which is basically a unit of quantum information.

What is Quantum Computing?

Quantum computing is seen as a new solution to algorithmic problems that are difficult to solve because of these advantages. Various studies using quantum computing models are also being conducted in the field of machine learning. Furthermore, since the optimization of quantum devices using the gradient descent method has been studied, It is possible to learn quantum machine learning using hyperparameters quickly.

QCNN, or Quantum Convolutional Neural Network extends the key features and structures of existing CNN to quantum systems. When a quantum physics problem defined in the many-body Hilbert space is transferred to a classical computing environment, the data size grows exponentially in proportion to the system size, making it unsuitable for efficient solutions. Because data in a quantum environment can be expressed using qubits, the problem can be avoided by applying a CNN structure to a quantum computer.

The Paradigm of QuantumCNN

Now, let us have a look at the architecture of the QCNN model. As shown in the above architecture, the QCNN model applies the convolution layer and the pooling layer which are the key features of CNN, to the quantum systems.

Architecture Of QCCN Model

<ol><li>The hidden state is discovered by applying multiple qubit gates between adjacent qubits in the convolution circuit.</li><li>The pooling circuit reduces the quantum’s system size by observing the qubit fraction or applying <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controlled_NOT_gate">CNOT Gates</a> to nothing but two-qubit gates.</li><li> Re-create the convolution and pooling circuits from steps 1 and 2.</li><li> If the size of the system is small enough, The classification result is predicted by a fully connected circuit.</li></ol>

Interpretation 

The Multiscale Entanglement Renormalization Ansatz (MERA) is commonly used to satisfy this structure. MERA is a model for efficiently simulating many-body state quantum systems. MERA now adds qubits to the quantum system, increasing its size exponentially for each depth.  This MERA is used in the opposite direction by QCNN. The reversed MERA, which is suitable as a model of QCNN, reduces the size of the quantum system exponentially from the given data.

MERA

One of the most popular applications of CNN is in the field of image classification. In terms of superposition and parallel computation, quantum computers offer significant advantages. Quantum Convolutional Neural Network improves CNN performance by incorporating quantum environments. In this section, we’ll look at how the QCNN can help with image classification.The quantum convolution layer is a layer in a quantum system that behaves like a convolution layer. To obtain feature maps composed of new data, the quantum convolution layer applies a filter to the input feature map.

Applications of QCNN

Unlike the convolution layer, the quantum convolution layer uses a quantum computing environment for filtering.Quantum computers offer superposition and parallel computation, which are not available in classical computing and can reduce learning and evaluation time. Existing quantum computers, on the other hand, are still limited to small quantum systems.Small quantum computers can construct the quantum convolution layer because it does not apply the entire image map to a quantum system at once but rather processes it as much as the filter size at a time.

Constructing Quantum Convolution Layer 

<ol><li>The quantum convolution layer can be constructed as shown in the diagram below. The following is an explanation of how the concept works:</li><li>During the encoding process, the pixel data corresponding to the filter size is stored in qubits.</li><li>Filters in learnable quantum circuits can detect the hidden state from the input state.</li><li>The decoding process obtains new classical data by measuring.</li><li>To finish the new feature map, repeat steps 1–3 once more.</li></ol>

Quantum Convolution Layer 

6. The first step’s encoding is a process that converts classical information into quantum information. The simplest method is to apply a rotation gate to qubits that correspond to pixel data. Of course, different encoding methods exist, and the encoding method chosen can affect the number of qubits required as well as the learning efficiency. The third decoding process is based on the measurement of one or more quantum states. Classical data is determined by measuring quantum states.

Finally Encoding 

A combination of multiple gates can be used to create the random quantum circuit in the second step. By adding variable gates, the circuit can also perform optimization using the gradient descent method. This circuit can be designed in a variety of ways, each of which has an impact on learning performance.

Continued 

Through this article, we have seen how QCNN uses a CNN model and a quantum computing environment to enable a variety of approaches in the field. Fully parameterized quantum convolutional neural networks open up promising results for quantum machine learning and data science applications. Apart from this discussion, if you want to look at a practical implementation of the QCNN, I recommend that you look at the <a href="https://www.tensorflow.org/quantum/tutorials/qcnn">TensorFlow implementation </a>and the <a href="https://github.com/Menborong/Simple-QCNN/blob/master/Simple_QCNN_MNIST.ipynb">researcher’s team </a>as mentioned in the introduction.

Final Words

Convolutional Neural Networks have the limitation that they learn inefficiently if the data or model dimension is very large.

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What is a Quantum Convolutional Neural Network?

With the holidays in mind, I am sure that many of you must be very excited. But why exactly do we get so excited?Dopamine is a chemical messenger made in the brain which is released when expecting a reward. In other words, whenever experiencing an activity that is pleasurable, dopamine is released. When dopamine is released, you end up feeling more happy than you did in the moments prior. While you're opening your Christmas presents, the dopamine levels in your body increase in anticipation of getting the present inside. With that being said, enjoy the rest of your holidays!

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The modern world likes to take credit for many technological inventions, but we fail to mention that often many of these “discoveries” are nothing but re-inventions based on knowledge our ancestors possessed long ago. In ancient times, India was one of the most advanced nations in the world. India has made many valuable contributions to the world. Centuries ago Indian sages had the kind of knowledge which many modern scientists lacks. Many Indian sages made discoveries that no one could think of back in those times.

Indian Sages AND Their Unknown Contributions

<a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/aryabhata-the-great-indian-astronomer-mathematician/">Aryabhatta </a>was a master Astronomer and Mathematician, born in Bihar. he wrote a text on astronomy and an unparalleled treatise on mathematics called ‎Aryabhatiya.He formulated the process of calculating the motion of planets and the time of eclipses. Aryabhatta was the first to proclaim that the earth is round,it rotates on its axis, orbits the sun and is suspended in space1,000 years before Copernicus.He is also acknowledged by many as the first person who calculated the value of Pi. And above all, his most spectacular contribution was the concept of 0 without which modern computer

1. Aryabhatta (476–550 CE)

Bhaskaracharya’s mathematical works called “Lilavati” and “Bijaganita” are considered to be unparalleled. <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/bhaskaracharya-great-astronomer-mathmatician/">Bhaskaracharya </a>was the first to discover gravity, 500 years before Isaac Newton. In the “Surya Siddhant” he makes a note on the force of gravity:“Objects fall on earth due to a force of attraction by the earth. Therefore, the earth, planets, constellations, moon, and sun are held in orbit due to this attraction.”Bhaskara accurately calculated the time that earth took to revolve around the Sun as 365.2588 days that is a difference of 3 minutes of modern acceptance of 365.2563 days.He is als

2. Bhaskaracharya (1114–1185 CE)

Maharshi Bhardwaj was one of the greatest Hindu sages whose accomplishments are detailed in the Puranas. His works includes astonishing and outstanding discoveries in aviation science, space science and flying machines. He has described three categories of <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/mystery-of-vimana-ancient-flying-machine/">flying machines </a>: (1) One that flies on earth from one place to another. (2) One that travels from one planet to another. (3) And one that travels from one universe to another. It is said that his work on the art of flying is unparalleled.

3.  Maharshi Bhardwaj (? BCE)

Acharya Charaka has been crowned as the Father of Medicine. His renowned work, the “Charak Samhita”, is considered as an encyclopedia of Ayurveda. He has described the medicinal qualities and functions of 100,000 herbal plants. His research on human anatomy, embryology, pharmacology, blood circulation and diseases like diabetes, tuberculosis is simply mindblowing. He was a strong proponent of the influence that diet has on the mind and body.

4. Aacharya Charak (~6th – 2nd century BCE ?)

Indian surgeon Sushruta is credited as being the founding father of surgery. In his treatise Sushrut Samhita, he has described over 300 surgical procedures and 125 surgical instruments, including scalpels, lancets, needles, catheters and rectal speculums; mostly designed from the jaws of animals and birds. His research was pioneering not only in the field of plastic surgery but he also made some groundbreaking contributions to the field of anesthesia. Interestingly, even before Hippocrates, he had prescribed an ethical code for medical practitioners.

5. Sushruta (~1200-600 BCE ?)

He gave the World the art of Yoga and showed how Yoga can improve not only one’s physical health but also mental health of a person. The life history of Patanjali is full of legends and contradictions. There are no authentic records regarding his birth.

6. Patanjali (? BCE)

In modern times, John Dalton has been credited as the inventor of the atomic theory. However, he was not the first one to discover the concepts of atoms. About 2,600 years ago, <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/acharya-kanad-the-father-of-atomic-theory/">Acharya Kanad </a>, an Indian philosopher and a great thinker far ahead of his time, developed what we today call the atomic theory. He was one of the first persons in the world who talked about objects and elements that create them. He gave the concepts of atoms and how they bond together to form larger particles. He studied atomic theory and found the way atoms move and react with each other.

7. Acharya Kanad (600 BCE)

Considered as the father of Cosmology, he gave the world the renowned Samkhya school of thought. He lived around 6th or 7th century BCE. He was the first person to talk about the human soul and the human spirit. He was the one who pointed out that both matter and spirit are equally important.

8. Kapila (6th -7th century BCE)

Chanakya or Vishnu Gupta or Kautilya was the teacher of Chandragupta Maurya. He served as a minister in the court of Chandragupta and Bindusara. He authored the ancient Indian political treatise called Arthasastra. Chanakya is considered as the pioneer of the field of economics and political science and his work is thought of as an important precursor to Classical Economics. Chanakya’s works predate Machiavelli’s by about 1,800 years. Chanakya was a teacher in <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/takshashila-worlds-oldest-university/">Takshashila </a>, an ancient centre of learning.

9. Chanakya (371 – 283 BCE)

<a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/varahamihira-predicted-water-on-mars/">Varahamihira </a>proposed that the Moon and planets are lustrous not because of their own light but due to sunlight. In the Brhat Samhita he has revealed his discoveries in the domains of geography, constellation, science, botany and animal science. Varahamihira in 550 AD have described a large number of comets in the Brhat Samhita. He also predicted the presence of water on Mars. Like <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/aryabhata-the-great-indian-astronomer-mathematician/">Aryabhata </a>before him, he declared that the earth was spherical. In his treatise on botanical science, Varahamihir presents cures for various diseases afflicting plants and trees.

10. Varahamahira (505–587 CE)

Known as the second Buddha, he had discovered the alchemy of transmuting base metals into gold. He was appointed as Chancellor of the famous <a href="https://www.themysteriousindia.net/ancient-nalanda-university-india/">University of Nalanda </a>. Interestingly, he is also considered as one of the most important Buddhist philosophers after Gautam Buddha.

11. Nagarjuna (150 – 250 CE)

Panini is known for his Sanskrit grammar, particularly for his formulation of the 3,959 rules of Sanskrit syntax and grammar known as Ashtadhyayi.Panini’s grammar is the world’s first formal system, developed well before the 19th century innovations of Gottlob Frege and the subsequent development of mathematical logic.In designing his grammar,Heused the method of “auxiliary symbols”,in which new affixes are designated to mark syntactic categories and the control of grammatical derivations.This technique,rediscovered by the logician Emil Post, became a standard method in the design of computer

12. Panini (~6th–4th century BCE)

Brahmagupta was the director of the astronomical observatory of Ujjain, the center of Ancient Indian mathematical astronomy. He was the first to use mathematics to predict the positions of the planets, the timings of the lunar and solar eclipses. In his methods of multiplication, he used place value in almost the same way as it is used today. He introduced negative numbers and operations on zero into mathematics. Brahmagupta was the first person in history to see zero as a number with its own properties and said that zero divided by any other number is zero.

13. Brahmagupta (6th – 7th century CE)

<a href="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pYiRq0rHvKE">Calculus And Madhavacharya before Newton</a>

Madhavacharya 

Centuries ago Indian sages had the kind of knowledge which many modern scientists lacks. Many Indian sages made discoveries that no one could think of back in those times.

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Mystic Quotes - Sadhguru

A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) are regions where new stars are being formed, while others are the remains of dead or dying stars. Nebulae come in many different shapes and sizes. There are four main types of nebulae: planetary nebulae, reflection nebulae, emission nebulae, and absorption nebulae. The word nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud.

What is a Nebula? 

Know about Nebula and its four types in a single minute.

#shorts #facts #space #nebula What is a nebula? A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) are regions where new stars are being formed, while others are the remains of dead or dying stars. Nebulae come in many different shapes and sizes. There are four main types of nebulae: planetary nebulae, reflection nebulae, emission nebulae, and absorption nebulae. The word nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud. Know more about…  Space : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6kTsDI4xfnAISJIMWKxkPoL9qoU9Hwv General knowledge : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6kTsDI4xfn6hHfyZBGiw-atw0its-7Q Science & Technology : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6kTsDI4xfmONVgfMhMbstBLpZuyJCP2 Health : https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLO6kTsDI4xflrlYCGE0EIyWXoBoNG81-r 🙏Requests🙏  I requested to you (My viewers) please subscribe to my channel and if you like video then please press like button.All youtubers are doing hard work in video making and your like, Share, Subscribes are fruits for our hard works.   You also follow me on: -  Facebook: www.facebook.com/thetechers You can visit my Website : www.knowledgevaccination.blogspot.com This video is under Fair Use: Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976;  Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.  Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.  Non - profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.  All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners.  No copyright infringement intended. Sound credit : www.bensound.com Video Credit : NASA / Wikipedia Thank you all of you...🙏

#shorts #facts #space #nebula 
What is a nebula?
A nebula is a cloud of gas and dust in space. Some nebulae (more than one nebula) are regions where new stars are being formed, while others are the remains of dead or dying stars. Nebulae come in many different shapes and sizes. There are four main types of nebulae: planetary nebulae, reflection nebulae, emission nebulae, and absorption nebulae. The word nebula comes from the Latin word for cloud.
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This video is under Fair Use: Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act in 1976;  Allowance is made for "Fair Use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research.  Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing.  Non - profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.  All rights and credit go directly to its rightful owners.  No copyright infringement intended.


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To answer the title, it is important to understand the behaviors of objects in the classical world. The two possible objects are waves and particles, through which we can explain classical physics. So should we use the rules of waves or particles to explain the properties of quantum objects?

What Are Quantum Objects

Waves can be easily thought of through as a few examples: water, light, electromagnetic, and sound. Two main properties that describe waves are velocity and interference. For instance, when being present during a storm, the wave of light (lightning) travels at a higher velocity than the sound (thunder), meaning that waves travel at a certain velocity. Secondly, there is interference, which means that they interact with one another to form complex patters through constructive and destructive interference.

Waves

When two waves have peaks and valleys at the same place, they add up to create constructive interference. On the other hand, when the peaks and valleys are at opposite places, they cancel out to create destructive interference.

Conti

In our day-to-day lives, we see particles all the time in objects like balls, balloons, even airplanes as an object made up of particles or atoms. When holding one of these objects, they each have their own mass, their own defined discrete position or location, and a velocity when moving.

Particles

To determine if a quantum object acts as a wave or particle, physicists have conducted the double-slit experiment to come to a conclusion. This experiment was set up using two walls, one with two slits spaced closely together and another wall right behind it.When sending particles towards the slits, you would see discrete spots where each of the particles hit the walls. After many particles being launched towards the slits, the spots would form two distinct lines on the second wall.

The Double-Slit Experiment

When sending waves through the slits, we see an interference pattern, which is a pattern of bright and dark lines. These lines show constructive and destructive interference through adding up to create bright lines and canceling out to create dark lines. This also can be thought of as some waves coming out of the slits amplifying one another, while others cancel each other out.

Particles Result: <ul><li>No interference </li><li>Discrete spots for each particle </li><li>Two lines </li> </ul>Waves Result: <ul><li>Interference / interference pattern </li><li>Multiple lines </li> </ul>

Results

This begs the question, what is the result from sending quantum objects through the two slits? Will it turn out to show the results of a particle or a wave? To test this, physicists sent electrons through the two slits to test this, and what they found out was each electron made a discrete spot on the wall, like particles. Furthermore, sending more electrons through the slits created the same interference pattern as waves.

Then 

In quantum, waves can behave as particles and particles can behave as waves, resulting from several unique properties of quantum mechanics: discreteness, superposition, and interference. Electrons, in fact, aren’t the only objects that are described by wave-particle duality. Recently there was a <a href="https://www.quantamagazine.org/how-big-can-the-quantum-world-be-physicists-probe-the-limits-20210818/">case study </a>to determine how large an object can be to still be quantum, and it turns out that C₆₀ or 60 atoms of Carbon was the biggest quantum object through this study to be explained by wave-particle duality.

Wave-Particle Duality

Due to the complexities of quantum mechanics, several theories have been theorized by different physicists. The first of these is the Copenhagen Interpretation, where he theorized that when a quantum state is measured, it collapses to one of the possible states. This is one of the most widely accepted theories today. Secondly, there is the Many Worlds Interpretation, which states when you make a measurement, the universe splits into another universe where in one, one state was measured, and in another, a different state was measured.

Quantum Mechanics Interpretations

Lastly, there is the De Broglie-Bohm Interpretation, or the Pilot Wave Theory, which defines wave-particle duality as the wave and particle parts of the quantum object coexisting, similar to a droplet of water bouncing on a puddle.

Lastly...

To answer the title, it is important to understand the behaviors of objects in the classical world. The two possible objects are waves and particles, through which we can explain classical physics…

What are Quantum Objects?

Carl Sagan (November 9, 1934–December 20, 1996) was many things — a <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/12/10/pale-blue-dot-motion-graphics/">cosmic sage</a>, <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/07/11/carl-sagan-reading-list/">voracious reader</a>, <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2011/12/27/the-voyagers-penny-lane-carl-sagan/">hopeless romantic</a>, and <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2013/12/20/carl-sagan-varieties-of-scientific-experience/">brilliant philosopher</a>. But above all, he endures as our era’s greatest patron saint of reason and critical thinking, a master of <a href="https://www.themarginalian.org/2012/05/23/carl-sagan-the-burden-of-skepticism/">the vital balance between skepticism and openness</a>. In <a href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Demon-Haunted-World-Science-Candle/dp/0345409469/?tag=braipick-20">The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark</a>Sagan shares his secret to upholding the rites of reason, even in the face of society’s most shameless untruths and outrageous propaganda.

The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark

In a chapter titled “The Fine Art of Baloney Detection,” Sagan reflects on the many types of deception to which we’re susceptible — from psychics to religious zealotry to paid product endorsements by scientists, which he held in especially low regard, noting that they “betray contempt for the intelligence of their customers” and “introduce an insidious corruption of popular attitudes about scientific objectivity.”

The Fine Art of Baloney Detection

But rather than preaching from the ivory tower of self-righteousness, Sagan approaches the subject from the most vulnerable of places — having just lost both of his parents, he reflects on the all too human allure of promises of supernatural reunions in the afterlife, reminding us that falling for such fictions doesn’t make us stupid or bad people, but simply means that we need to equip ourselves with the right tools against them.

We All Fall For Baloney

Through their training, scientists are equipped with what Sagan calls a “baloney detection kit” — a set of cognitive tools and techniques that fortify the mind against penetration by falsehoods. The kit is brought out as a matter of course whenever new ideas are offered for consideration. If the new idea survives examination by the tools in our kit, we grant it warm, although tentative, acceptance. If you’re so inclined, if you don’t want to buy baloney even when it’s reassuring to do so, there are precautions that can be taken; there’s a tried-and-true, consumer-tested method.

The “Baloney Detection Kit”

But the kit, Sagan argues, isn’t merely a tool of science — rather, it contains invaluable tools of healthy skepticism that apply just as elegantly, and just as necessarily, to everyday life. By adopting the kit, we can all shield ourselves against clueless guile and deliberate manipulation. Sagan shares 9 of these tools:

A Kit As Useful And As Necessary To Everyday Life

Wherever possible there must be independent confirmation of the “facts.”

Encourage substantive debate on the evidence by knowledgeable proponents of all points of view.

Arguments from authority carry little weight — “authorities” have made mistakes in the past. They will do so again in the future. Perhaps a better way to say it is that in science there are no authorities; at most, there are experts.

Spin more than one hypothesis. If there’s something to be explained, think of all the different ways in which it could be explained. Then think of tests by which you might systematically disprove each of the alternatives. What survives, the hypothesis that resists disproof in this Darwinian selection among “multiple working hypotheses,” has a much better chance of being the right answer than if you had simply run with the first idea that caught your fancy.

Try not to get overly attached to a hypothesis just because it’s yours. It’s only a way station in the pursuit of knowledge. Ask yourself why you like the idea. Compare it fairly with the alternatives. See if you can find reasons for rejecting it. If you don’t, others will.

Quantify. If whatever it is you’re explaining has some measure, some numerical quantity attached to it, you’ll be much better able to discriminate among competing hypotheses. What is vague and qualitative is open to many explanations. Of course there are truths to be sought in the many qualitative issues we are obliged to confront, but finding them is more challenging.

If there’s a chain of argument, every link in the chain must work (including the premise) — not just most of them.

Occam’s Razor. This convenient rule-of-thumb urges us when faced with two hypotheses that explain the data equally well to choose the simpler.

Always ask whether the hypothesis can be, at least in principle, falsified. Propositions that are untestable, unfalsifiable are not worth much. Consider the grand idea that our Universe and everything in it is just an elementary particle — an electron, say — in a much bigger Cosmos. But if we can never acquire information from outside our Universe, is not the idea incapable of disproof? You must be able to check assertions out. Inveterate skeptics must be given the chance to follow your reasoning, to duplicate your experiments and see if they get the same result.

Just as important as learning these helpful tools, however, is unlearning and avoiding the most common pitfalls of common sense. Reminding us of where society is most vulnerable to those, Sagan writes:“In addition to teaching us what to do when evaluating a claim to knowledge, any good baloney detection kit must also teach us what not to do. It helps us recognize the most common and perilous fallacies of logic and rhetoric. Many good examples can be found in religion and politics, because their practitioners are so often obliged to justify two contradictory propositions.”

What To Do And What Not To Do

Sagan admonishes against the 20 most common and perilous of these fallacies of logic and rhetoric— many rooted in our chronic discomfort with ambiguity — with examples of each in action:

20 Most Common And Perilous Fallacies Of Logic And Rhetoric

Latin for “to the man,” attacking the arguer and not the argument. e.g., The Reverend Dr. Smith is a known Biblical fundamentalist, so her objections to evolution need not be taken seriously

1. Ad Hominem

e.g., President Richard Nixon should be re-elected because he has a secret plan to end the war in Southeast Asia — but because it was secret, there was no way for the electorate to evaluate it on its merits; the argument amounted to trusting him because he was President: a mistake, as it turned out.

2. Argument From Authority

e.g., A God meting out punishment and reward must exist, because if He didn’t, society would be much more lawless and dangerous — perhaps even ungovernable. Or: The defendant in a widely publicized murder trial must be found guilty; otherwise, it will be an encouragement for other men to murder their wives.

3. Argument From Adverse Consequences

The claim that whatever has not been proved false must be true, and vice versa. e.g., There is no compelling evidence that UFOs are not visiting the Earth; therefore UFOs exist — and there is intelligent life elsewhere in the Universe. Or: There may be seventy kazillion other worlds, but not one is known to have the moral advancement of the Earth, so we’re still central to the Universe.) This impatience with ambiguity can be criticized in the phrase: absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

4. Appeal To Ignorance

… often to rescue a proposition in deep rhetorical trouble. e.g., How can a merciful God condemn future generations to torment because, against orders, one woman induced one man to eat an apple? Special plead: you don’t understand the subtle Doctrine of Free Will. Or: How can there be an equally godlike Father, Son, and Holy Ghost in the same Person? Special plead: You don’t understand the Divine Mystery of the Trinity.

5. Special Pleading

Also called assuming the answer. e.g., We must institute the death penalty to discourage violent crime. But does the violent crime rate in fact fall when the death penalty is imposed? Or: The stock market fell yesterday because of a technical adjustment and profit-taking by investors — but is there any independent evidence for the causal role of “adjustment” and profit-taking; have we learned anything at all from this purported explanation?

6. Begging The Question

Also called the enumeration of favorable circumstances, or as the philosopher Francis Bacon described it, counting the hits and forgetting the misses. e.g., A state boasts of the Presidents it has produced, but is silent on its serial killers.

7. Observational Selection

A close relative of observational selection. e.g., They say 1 out of every 5 people is Chinese. How is this possible? I know hundreds of people, and none of them is Chinese. Yours truly. Or: I’ve thrown three sevens in a row. Tonight I can’t lose.

8. Statistics Of Small Numbers

e.g., President Dwight Eisenhower expressing astonishment and alarm on discovering that fully half of all Americans have below average intelligence.

9. Misunderstanding Of The Nature Of Statistics 

e.g., Prudently plan for the worst of which a potential military adversary is capable, but thriftily ignore scientific projections on environmental dangers because they’re not “proved.”Or: Attribute the declining life expectancy in the former Soviet Union to the failures of communism many years ago, but never attribute the high infant mortality rate in the United States (now highest of the major industrial nations) to the failures of capitalism.

10. Inconsistency

Latin for “It doesn’t follow”. e.g., Our nation will prevail because God is great. But nearly every nation pretends this to be true; the German formulation was “Gott mit uns”). Often those falling into the non sequitur fallacy have simply failed to recognize alternative possibilities.

11. Non Sequitur 

Latin for “It happened after, so it was caused by” e.g., Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila: “I know of … a 26-year-old who looks 60 because she takes [contraceptive] pills.” Or: Before women got the vote, there were no nuclear weapons.

12. Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

e.g., What happens when an irresistible force meets an immovable object? But if there is such a thing as an irresistible force there can be no immovable objects, and vice versa.

13. Meaningless Question

Considering only the two extremes in a continuum of intermediate possibilities. e.g., “Sure, take his side; my husband’s perfect; I’m always wrong.” Or: “Either you love your country or you hate it.” Or: “If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem”).

14. Excluded Middle, Or False Dichotomy

A subset of the excluded middle, but so important I’ve pulled it out for special attention. e.g., We can’t afford programs to feed malnourished children and educate pre-school kids. We need to urgently deal with crime on the streets. Or: Why explore space or pursue fundamental science when we have so huge a budget deficit?

15. Short-term Vs. Long-term

Related to (14) excluded middle. e.g., If we allow abortion in the first weeks of pregnancy, it will be impossible to prevent the killing of a full-term infant. Or, conversely: If the state prohibits abortion even in the ninth month, it will soon be telling us what to do with our bodies around the time of conception.

16. Slippery Slope

e.g., A survey shows that more college graduates are homosexual than those with lesser education; therefore education makes people gay. Or: Andean earthquakes are correlated with closest approaches of the planet Uranus; therefore — despite the absence of any such correlation for the nearer, more massive planet Jupiter — the latter causes the former.

17. Confusion Of Correlation And Causation

Caricaturing a position to make it easier to attack. e.g., Scientists suppose that living things simply fell together by chance— a formulation that willfully ignores the central Darwinian insight, that Nature ratchets up by saving what works and discarding what doesn’t. Or — this is also a short-term/long-term fallacy —Environmentalists care more for snail darters and spotted owls than they do for people.

18. Straw Man

e.g., An amazingly accurate and widely quoted “prophecy” of the assassination attempt on President Reagan is shown on television; but — an important detail — was it recorded before or after the event? Or: These government abuses demand revolution, even if you can’t make an omelette without breaking some eggs. Yes, but is this likely to be a revolution in which far more people are killed than under the previous regime? What does the experience of other revolutions suggest? Are all revolutions against oppressive regimes desirable and in the interests of the people?

19. Suppressed Evidence, Or Half-truths

e.g., The separation of powers of the U.S. Constitution specifies that the United States may not conduct a war without a declaration by Congress. On the other hand, Presidents are given control of foreign policy and the conduct of wars, which are potentially powerful tools for getting themselves re-elected. Presidents of either political party may therefore be tempted to arrange wars while waving the flag and calling the wars something else — “armed incursions,” “protective reaction strikes,” “pacification,” “safeguarding American interests,” and a wide variety of “operations”.

20. Weasel Words

Sagan ends the chapter with a necessary disclaimer:“Like all tools, the baloney detection kit can be misused, applied out of context, or even employed as a rote alternative to thinking. But applied judiciously, it can make all the difference in the world — not least in evaluating our own arguments before we present them to others.”

Sagan’s Disclaimer

Necessary cognitive fortification against propaganda, pseudoscience, and general falsehood. A brilliant read and a humbling read. 

Understand yourself and those around you.

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The Baloney Detection Kit: Carl Sagan’s Rules for Bullshit-Busting and Critical Thinking

The development of communication technologies paved the way for man’s fourth stage of evolution and marked the onset of a new era driven by technology and versatile digital developments. The growth of humanity in computer advancements has led to innovative solutions to our everyday difficulties and has helped us introduce solutions for even the most complex problems. The field of communication is affected the most by these developments.

Communication And Quantum Technology 

Today, the world is facing a cyber-attack every 2 seconds. In this context, the demand to secure one’s data has become the top priority of individuals and companies connected with cyberspace. Various methods have been introduced in the past, to help secure communication technology. However, there have always been cases that force us to reconsider the possibility of complete security.

Continued...

The security of voice calls can be compromised with ease as the radiations and communication waves between 1 cell phone tower to another can be tapped and the information can be intercepted by a malicious person. To tackle the problem of leakage of information through voice calls the concept of linking communication technology to quantum cryptology was theorised.

Cyber Attacks And QKD 

Quantum technology is an emerging field of physics that is based on the principles of quantum mechanics. The word quantum in physics is defined as the minimum amount of any physical entity or property involved in an interaction between particles. This interaction of particles of two or more entities forms the foundation of quantum cryptology.

What is Quantum Technology?

The laws of quantum physics allow the photons or light particles to be in a state of superposition i.e., represented in multiple combinations of binary digits (0 and 1) at an instant in time. These combinations are termed qubits . In classical cryptography, hackers use brute force to identify private keys from the public key to decrypt important data. However, in quantum cryptology, we deal with Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) process where keys are symmetrical and are randomly generated in real-time making them virtually un-hackable.

Quantum cryptography and communication.

The security of encrypted data solely depends on the strength of the key used to encrypt that information. The mathematical complexity along with the permutations and combinations that the keys have undergone decides how easy it is to decrypt the data. Due to the complex and random nature of keys that are generated through the Quantum Key Distribution process, quantum cryptography is being considered as a mode of communication between the authorities responsible for the defence and safety of a country.

QKD and defence

In December 2020, DRDO of India conducted successful trials of QKD to showcase secure communication. The Quantum-based security solution against eavesdropping was validated at a 12-km range and 10 dB reduction over the fibre optic channel.The development of such an incredible technology is indeed a remarkable achievement.However,the said technology is miles away from seeing widespread usage across the globe.A crucial reason behind this anomaly is the lack of exploration and knowledge regarding the depths of Qalong with the absence of required tools to perform the above-mentioned exploration.

Trial Conducted By DRDO

The development of communication technologies paved the way for man’s fourth stage of evolution and marked the onset of a new era driven by technology and versatile digital developments. The growth…

Communication and Quantum Technology

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