Quantum Computing - A Skeptic's Guide

Welcome to A Skeptic's Guide to Quantum Computing — an interactive intelligent textbook for investors, policymakers, students, and anyone who wants to evaluate quantum computing claims with evidence rather than hype.

Over $100 billion has been invested in quantum computing worldwide, yet no company has generated a single dollar of commercial return. This book examines why — tracing the physics barriers, the economics, the cognitive biases, and the sociology of technology hype that sustain investment despite absent results.

Across 17 chapters you will learn what quantum computing can and cannot do, why decoherence and error correction make large-scale machines extraordinarily difficult to build, how cognitive biases like sunk cost reasoning and FOMO drive continued investment, and what better alternatives exist. The book includes interactive simulations, quizzes, annotated references, and a 241-term glossary.

This book is not anti-quantum — it is pro-evidence. Where quantum technologies deliver real value, we say so. Where claims outstrip reality, we document the gap with data.