The challenge and opportunities of quantum literacy for future education and transdisciplinary problem-solving

Abstract

Resulting from cross-disciplinary dialogue between physicists, computer scientists, educationalists, and industrial end users, we propose the concept of quantum literacy as one means of addressing the transdisciplinary nature of the complex problems that we see at the heart of issues around global sustainability. In this way, quantum literacy can contribute to UN Sustainable Development Goal 4, Quality Education. We argue that quantum literacy, as defined here, addresses the challenges of learning and skills acquisition within a highly bounded discipline and of access to the kind of powerful knowledge that should be more accessible to a wide group of learners throughout the life course, both students and professionals. It is increasingly important that the knowledge of quantum technologies is accessible to those who work with real world applications in a more inclusive way. We therefore argue for the importance of addressing pedagogic issues when powerful knowledge consists of dense concepts, as well as complex and hierarchical relations between concepts, in addition to presenting a strong barrier to entry in the form of mathematics. We introduce a specific puzzle visualization learning tool through which to achieve these pedagogic ends with respect to quantum computation. Visualization through puzzles can enable non-specialists to develop an intuitive, but still rigorous, understanding of universal quantum computation and provide a facility for non-specialists to discover increasingly complex and new quantum algorithms. Using the Hong-Ou-Mandel optical effect from quantum mechanics, we demonstrate how visual methods such as those made possible through the puzzle visualization tool, can be very useful for understanding underlying complex processes in quantum physics and beyond and therefore support the aims of quantum literacy.

20 pages, 4 figures, position paper, typo in author name fixed in v2

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• Experimental quantum key distribution beyond the repeaterless secret key capacity
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