I’d like to briefly share with you an interesting example of gamification in quantum physics.
You can find the corresponding source article here.
Faced with the inability of computers to solve a complex quantum equation, a team innovated by creating a game based on quantum rules, which was played by 10,000 people.
This game was actually the analogy of a quantum problem that may ultimately lead to the creation of a quantum computer: the game Quantum moves models the moves of an electron (its wave function corresponds to a “fluid” in the game) towards a crystal (the target). The tool at the bottom of the screen is actually a LASER that moves the electron to the target without impairing its quantum state.
Guess what?
Surprisingly, the gamers outperformed state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of both speed and performance. The gamers’ success in solving the researchers’ problem even directly contributed to a more accurate scientific model.
This was not the only example of gamification that has ever succeeded. For instance, Foldit let people explore the possibilities in protein structures. An other example is Eyewire, a game that lets you explore a brain and, actually, map it.
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