{"id":2132,"date":"2024-10-10T07:40:39","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T07:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantum.closelycoded.site\/?page_id=2132"},"modified":"2024-12-18T01:32:13","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T01:32:13","slug":"backstory-quantum-cake-a-la-solvay","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/backstory-quantum-cake-a-la-solvay\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2132\" class=\"elementor elementor-2132\" data-elementor-post-type=\"page\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-5922dc1c e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"5922dc1c\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6683d3c4 elementor-absolute elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"6683d3c4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_position&quot;:&quot;absolute&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"92\" height=\"143\" src=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/pattern_top.png\" class=\"attachment-full size-full wp-image-591\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-66666dcf elementor-absolute elementor-hidden-tablet elementor-hidden-mobile elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"66666dcf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;_position&quot;:&quot;absolute&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"160\" height=\"177\" src=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2024\/09\/pattern_bottom.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-592\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d31c074 e-con-full e-flex e-con e-child\" data-id=\"d31c074\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-35255a5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-heading\" data-id=\"35255a5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"heading.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"elementor-heading-title elementor-size-default\">Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-698dafe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"698dafe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p align=\"center\">A Q&amp;A with\u00a0<strong>Pippa Storey<\/strong>, Quantum Shorts finalist<\/p><p align=\"center\">Read the story:\u00a0<a href=\"\/entry\/quantum-cake-a-la-solvay\/\">Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay<\/a><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-2bc8bc4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"2bc8bc4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><strong>Can you give a short introduction of yourself?<\/strong><\/p><p>I received a master\u2019s degree in physics from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and a doctorate in quantum physics from the Universit\u00e9 Pierre et Marie Curie in France. I am now a Research Associate Professor of Radiology at the New York University School of Medicine, where I develop techniques for MRI.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p>I have always loved reading but rarely, if ever, heard the voices of scientists and mathematicians represented in literature. During the pandemic, I decided to try writing some fiction of my own. To date, I\u2019ve had two other stories published. Links to those stories, plus some of my videos and MRI-based digital artwork, are available on my personal webpage:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/pippastorey\">https:\/\/sites.google.com\/view\/pippastorey<\/a><\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>How did you come up with the idea for your story?<\/strong><\/p><p>I started with the last line and riffed on that. It was only after I\u2019d submitted the story that I discovered where the last line probably came from. I\u2019d published a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/367626a0\">paper in\u00a0<em>Nature<\/em><\/a><em>\u00a0<\/em>in 1994 with Sze Tan, Matthew Collett and Dan Walls, which addressed the question of whether complementarity is an independent component of quantum mechanics or simply a consequence of Heisenberg\u2019s uncertainty principle. Our paper was discussed by the science journalist David Bradley in his 2007 piece\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencebase.com\/science-blog\/two-slits-are-better-than-one.html\"><em>Two Slits Are Better Than One<\/em><\/a>. In it, he wrote \u201cSomehow, you can have your quantum cake and eat it\u201d. In retrospect, I suspect that I must have read his article at some point and subconsciously remembered that sentence.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Was it difficult to write in rhyme and keep to the syllable count?<\/strong><\/p><p>If I made it sound difficult, then I haven\u2019t written good verse! (Although making it sound easy is very hard.) Adhering to the meter is more challenging than finding a perfect rhyme. However, it\u2019s also more important, as I illustrate below:<\/p><p>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Poor meter is surely the curse<\/p><p class=\"rteindent1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Of anyone writing in verse.<\/p><p class=\"rteindent1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 A couplet is fine<\/p><p class=\"rteindent1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 If it doesn\u2019t quite rhyme,<\/p><p class=\"rteindent1\">\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 But if it doesn\u2019t scan that\u2019s much worse!<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What was your quantum inspiration?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019ve always been fascinated by the mind-bending aspects of quantum mechanics and the challenges that the theory poses to our fundamental notions of physical reality. I\u2019ve also enjoyed reading about the physicists who developed it, some of whom were very colourful characters. My story contains an incoherent mixture of quantum concepts, superposed with a few historical (and not-so-historical) facts.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What was your writing process like?<\/strong><\/p><p>Writing fiction is just another example of the creative process that must be familiar to all scientists. Ideas come to you in the middle of the night or while you\u2019re taking a walk or having a shower \u2013 any time that your mind is free to drift and make associations. You develop them on paper, then scrap most of them, think of some more, and keep iterating until you reach a steady state.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What is your favourite science-inspired book?<\/strong><\/p><p>The book that\u2019s changed my worldview most profoundly is probably\u00a0<em>The Tangled Tree<\/em>\u00a0by David Quammen. In terms of pure enjoyment, my favourite would be\u00a0<em>Surely You\u2019re Joking, Mr. Feynman<\/em>.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What does being a Quantum Shorts finalist mean to you?<\/strong><\/p><p>It\u2019s an opportunity to reach a wider audience and show that scientists have a sense of humour.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Is there anything else you would like to tell us about you or your story?<\/strong><\/p><p>I applaud the Centre for Quantum Technologies and its partners for their efforts to foster interest in science and understanding of scientific concepts outside the narrow confines of academia. In this time of extreme polarisation, when even science is politicised, such engagement is vital for the welfare of society and the maintenance (or restoration!) of functioning democracy.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Pippa Storey, Quantum Shorts finalist Read the story:\u00a0Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay Can you give a short introduction of yourself? I received a master\u2019s degree in physics from the University of Auckland in New Zealand and a doctorate in quantum physics from the Universit\u00e9 Pierre et Marie [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":49,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2132","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay - Quantum Shorts<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/backstory-quantum-cake-a-la-solvay\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay - Quantum Shorts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backstory: Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Pippa Storey, Quantum Shorts finalist Read the story:\u00a0Quantum cake \u00e0 la Solvay Can you give a short introduction of yourself? 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