| It comes across as a brilliantly absurd joke at first, though I suspect that to be a case of poor translation and an even poorer choice of analogy. I see this pertaining to quantum physics/computing. I think it's trying to posit: "fluctuations in physically-coupled systems (tug-of-war dynamics) can be used to reliably and efficiently infer state/logic when the initial, discrete distribution is known." To break that down a bit... - They describe tug-of-war dynamics as a sort of "rigid physical coupling," and briefly allude to practical applications, stating that they've implemented this dynamic in "... quantum dots, single photons and atomic switches." - They are using a poor example as the conceptual nature of the 'slot machines' and iron bar seems irrelevant -- it's just an analogy for a "measurable state" represented in a physically-coupled construct. As for why it's relevant, it seems to be the cornerstone of an alternate paradigm to computing that when scaled down (to nanotechnology and quantum particles) can allow physical systems to represent logic and state without electrical transistors. That would appear to have application in every field from medicine to defense (smart materials, targeted drug delivery, et. al). The breakthrough has 0 to do with the lovely "iron bar," and instead seems to be in their method of physical coupling, allowing them to represent binary switches reliably in the physical realm at quantum scale. Then again... "Other than this fluctuation, we added another fluctuation to our model. The important point is ... fluctuations." http://i.imgur.com/bHFwiof.jpg |
