HE’S movie-star handsome, wears sharp suits and runs one of the world’s biggest democracies, and then there’s that marvellous brain.
Reporters were left shocked and impressed by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during a press conference conducted after he delivered a budget announcement of $50m for a physics institute in Ontario.
The theatrical announcement took place in front of a blackboard full of maths equations, and Trudeau was put on the spot by a reporter who jokingly asked him to explain quantum computing.
The reporter was set to ask the PM about Canada’s mission against ISIS, but started with the quip “I was was going to ask you about quantum computing, but ...”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Picture: Geoff Robins/The Canadian Press via APSource:AP
Trudeau immediately replied: “Very simply, normal computers work by ...”, before he was cut off by the shocked laughs of the press.
He then went on to give a great explanation of the topic, surprising the whole room.
“Very simply, normal computers work by ... either the power going through a wire or not. It’s 1 or a 0. They’re binary systems. What quantum states allow for is much more complex information to be encoded into a single bit. A regular computer bit is either a 1 or 0 - on or off.”
He continued: “A quantum state can be much more complex than that because as we know, things can be both particles and waves at the same time. And the uncertainty around quantum states allows us to encode more information into a much smaller computer.
“So that’s what’s exciting about quantum computing. Don’t get me going on this or we’ll be here all day, trust me.”
Watch the full exchange below:
Mr Trudeau is one of the world’s most popular leaders. Since he was elected in October, his approval ratings have remained high.
An ARI poll puts Trudeau’s approval at 61 per cent, with 23 per cent strongly approving and 38 per cent somewhat approving of him. A poll from Forum put his approval rating at 57 per cent. The two surveys found Trudeau’s disapproval rating at between 33 and 34 per cent of Canadians.
In contrast, Malcolm Turnbull’s approval rating currently sits at 39 per cent (down 6 per cent since last month) and his disapproval rating is also at 39 per cent (up 4 per cent from last month). Labor leader Bill Shorten’s rating is up four points to 32 per cent.
