Endorsement that money can't buy

© The White House, Washington, USA

Recently it was announced that President Obama (see picture) has signed an executive order calling for the US to build the world's fastest computer by 2025(*). After listing the mind-bogglingly huge numbers that usually describe the performance of such a machine, the BBC report went on:

Efforts to construct an exascale computer are not entirely new. Recently, IBM, the Netherlands Institute for Radio Astronomy (ASTRON) and the University of Groningen announced plans to build one to analyse data from the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) radio telescope project.

It is not clear whether these are Obama's words or just the BBC reporter's, but this is the kind of endorsement that money can't buy.

(*) Presently the fastest computer in the world is Chinese, and also Saudi Arabia has a fast one.