{"id":2177,"date":"2024-10-10T08:24:04","date_gmt":"2024-10-10T08:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quantum.closelycoded.site\/?page_id=2177"},"modified":"2024-12-17T09:37:47","modified_gmt":"2024-12-17T09:37:47","slug":"backstory-quantum-luck","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/events.cqt.sg\/shorts\/backstory-quantum-luck\/","title":{"rendered":"Backstory: Quantum Luck"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-page\" data-elementor-id=\"2177\" class=\"elementor elementor-2177\" 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 Luck<\/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 class=\"rtecenter\">A Q&amp;A with\u00a0<strong>Brian Wells<\/strong>, Quantum Shorts finalist<\/p><p class=\"rtecenter\"><a href=\"\/entry\/quantum-luck\">Read the story first: Quantum Luck<\/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>What is your background\u00a0in science?<\/strong><\/p><p>I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics (1984). After getting my degree, I worked as a computer hardware\/software engineer.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Something unexpected happens to Captain Brinks in your story. How did the idea come about?<\/strong><\/p><p>I read an article claiming that something the size of a clipboard is indeed likely (or at least as likely as not) to have tunnelled somewhere in the universe in 10<sup>20<\/sup>\u00a0years. That same article claimed that in 10<sup>100<\/sup>\u00a0years, the universe itself is likely to have tunnelled to a new state of existence. So I began to think about what it might take to make that happen sooner. If not time, then luck would be required, enhanced through technological means. When the\u00a0notion struck me that \u201cquantum luck\u201d might be conserved, I had my story idea.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What can you tell us about how you wrote the story?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019ve always been fascinated with the idea of what the consequences would be if quantum phenomena could be applied to objects in the macro (classical) world we\u2019re all familiar with. So the question of what might happen if a ship could travel by quantum tunnelling was an inevitable path of exploration for a story.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What makes you interested in quantum physics?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019ve wanted to be a scientist since I was a toddler. It is a genuine thrill to learn how the universe works by poking it to see what happens. The quantum world is perhaps the most surprising and fun to explore, not just in the real world, but also in fiction.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What is your favourite science-inspired book?<\/strong><\/p><p>During my string theory phase (we all go through it, right?), I enjoyed reading Michio Kaku. Lately, however, I\u2019ve come to enjoy the \u2018big picture\u2019 perspectives of Brian Greene\u2019s\u00a0<em>The Fabric of the Cosmos<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0<em>The Elegant Universe<\/em>.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>What does being a Quantum Shorts finalist mean to you?<\/strong><\/p><p>Honestly, I couldn\u2019t be more thrilled or honoured. After a lifetime of keeping these science-inspired story ideas in my head, it is more gratifying and humbling than I ever could have imagined to be a Quantum Shorts finalist, chosen not just by story editors, but also by distinguished scientists whose attention I never would have previously earned.<\/p><p>\u00a0<\/p><p><strong>Are you working on other projects now?<\/strong><\/p><p>I\u2019m writing my third novel and will always write flash stories as inspiration strikes me. Every story I write pivots on the use of a scientific discovery or development, usually quantum in nature.<\/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\u2019ve tried to convince my wife that my keys end up locked in the car because they keep spontaneously quantum-tunnelling out of my pocket, but she\u2019s not buying it.<\/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 Luck A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Brian Wells, Quantum Shorts finalist Read the story first: Quantum Luck What is your background\u00a0in science? I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Physics (1984). After getting my degree, I worked as a computer hardware\/software engineer. \u00a0 Something unexpected happens to Captain Brinks in your story. How did [&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-2177","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 Luck - 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-luck\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Backstory: Quantum Luck - Quantum Shorts\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Backstory: Quantum Luck A Q&amp;A with\u00a0Brian Wells, Quantum Shorts finalist Read the story first: Quantum Luck What is your background\u00a0in science? 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