quantum-inspired computing

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quantum-inspired computing The use of computational methods inspired by the principles of quantum mechanics, such as probabilistic universes, interference, and superposition of states. The approach is primarily aimed at problems that are known to be NP-hard (see P=NP question) or require large amounts of processing time. A quantum-inspired computation may suggest rather than guarantee a result, which needs to be checked by normal algorithm.

Quantum-inspired sorting, for instance, splits a list of items to be sorted into distinct parallel universes and then sorts the sublists both within and across universes using interference. For quantum-inspired genetic algorithms, each chromosome evolves in its own universe, with interference between two or more universes implementing crossover.