Summary
A philosophical and practical workshop that bridges the gap between quantum computing and creative practice. This isn’t a technical deep-dive — it’s an invitation to think differently. Led by Chris Pandolfi (Director of Programming, HXOUSE Labs), this workshop explores what quantum computing means for designers, artists, and immersive creators: not what the technology does, but what it permits us to imagine.
“Nobody understands quantum mechanics. And when the foremost thinker in the field says that, that’s an invitation for exploration — and that’s the realm of the creative.”
Recorded as a live workshop in collaboration between HXOUSE Labs and The HQ, Chris and host Elburz Sorkhabi take you through the conceptual foundations of quantum computing, its departure from binary thinking, and two hands-on exercises designed to unlock quantum-scale imagination in your creative process.
Instructor
Chris Pandolfi, HXOUSE Labs
Course Contents
- Quantum as a Systems Changer: Why quantum computing is fundamentally different from binary computing, and what it means for the way we build, design, and interact with technology
- The Creative as Explorer: How designers and artists have always been the first to shape the experiences of emerging technology, and why that makes quantum computing your territory
- Time, Scale, and Existence: Why the assumptions baked into binary thinking do not hold at the quantum level, and how rethinking time and permanence opens up new creative possibilities
- Bits vs. Qubits: A plain-language breakdown of superposition, spectrum-based thinking, and how quantum computers solve problems across parallel possibilities simultaneously
- The State of Quantum Today: IBM, Google, Honeywell, and why quantum supremacy has already been achieved, including how to access a real quantum computer for free right now
- Feynman’s Creative Exercises: Two hands-on exercises based on path integral principles designed to unlock quantum-scale imagination in your existing practice
Course Benefits
- A new mental model: Understand why binary thinking is a built-in constraint of the systems you already work inside and how quantum thinking offers a concrete framework for breaking out of it in your creative process
- A creative entry point: Two hands-on exercises (based on Feynman’s path integral principles) you can run on your own or with a team to unlock non-binary ideation and practice thinking in possibilities rather than outcomes
- Historical grounding: A curated look at why creatives have always been the first movers with emerging technology, from Norman McLaren to Muriel Cooper, and why that precedent makes quantum computing your territory right now
- Practical perspective: A clear framework for how to integrate quantum-scale thinking into the ideation phase of your existing design process, without waiting for direct access to a quantum computer to get started
- Resources: A curated list of videos, books, and references, including Michio Kaku’s Quantum Supremacy, IBM’s publicly accessible quantum interface, the Eames’ Powers of Ten, and more, so you can keep going well beyond the workshop