Better Math is the Future

From a February 8th, 2009 Rice University News Release

"In the first real-world test of a revolutionary type of computing that thrives on random errors, scientists have created a microchip that uses 30 times less electricity while running seven times faster than today's best technology. The U.S.-Singapore team developing the new technology, dubbed PCMOS [pronounced "pee-cee-moss"], revealed its results in San Francisco TODAY at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC), the premier forum for engineers and scientists working at the cutting edge of integrated-circuit design."

"...PCMOS piggybacks on the "complementary metal-oxide semiconductor" technology, or CMOS, that chipmakers already use. That means chipmakers won't have to buy new equipment to support PCMOS, or "probabilistic" CMOS. Although PCMOS runs on standard silicon, it breaks with computing's past by abandoning the set of mathematical rules -- called Boolean logic -- that have thus far been used in all digital computers. PCMOS instead uses probabilistic logic..."

As it has been long noted the only way to deal with growth is to waste more raw materials and energy trying to keep up, or improve the math. Better algorithims mean better production. We can see this in a range of things from compression (codecs) to DWDM to financial trading. Everything is possible with better math.

The driving force behind the Rice / Nanyang Technological University teams is "green" energy and reducing the IT industry's carbon footprint. I can personally attest to the need for power consumption reduction in carrier hotel, colocation and data center facilities worldwide. I'm not sure if this new logic will have an immediate, or substantial impact on that runaway power draw, but it certainly is a step in the right direction. Evolution is change and we certainly need to change they way we think to change the way we consume energy.

For more on the news check out the ISSCC and, or the Rice University National Media