Scott Aaronson's FAQ
Q: Most Respected Profeser Sir Dr. Scot Andersen: I wish to join your esteemed research group. I have taken two courses in Signal Processing at the Technical College of Freedonia; thus, it is clear that I would be a perfect fit for your laboratory. Please respond immediately with a specific date for the commencement of my studies.
A: For graduate admissions go to https://www.cs.utexas.edu/graduate/prospective-students/apply
Q: Scott, did you hear the news yet?? There's a link on Slashdot about how to solve NP-complete problems in linear time using Peanut M&M's! There's also an interview with Dr. Doofus McRoofus where he says quantum computing proves the reality of time travel! Plus, a mathematician at the University of Trivialshire has apparently announced a new number system where you can take not only square roots, but also the square roots of square roots! What do you think about all these developments? Please blog your reaction ASAP!
A: Usually, I blog about such things only after they've gotten so much press that silence on my part would amount to complicity.
Q: Dr. Aaronson, while your writings are of some interest, you have nevertheless a great deal to learn from my more refined insight and sagacity. In particular, your references to the so-called "theory of evolution" are surprisingly naïve and simplistic. You seem wholly unaware of the profound conundrum of how a system with a low degree of order can obtain progressively higher degrees of order, in direct contradistinction to the Second Law of Thermodynamics... [17 pages omitted] Please let me know when you will be available to enter into a sustained dialogue about the flawed presuppositions underlying empirical positivism.
A: When I'm finished reviewing papers, writing up old results, etc. (Note: I will never be finished.)
Q: Hello, I am interested in leaning about computer science !! Please give me some links to get started.