Comment by throw0101c

> Then again, there are enough examples of failed projects. Why should this be comparable to the Manhattan project? In 1944, it was only two years underway, whereas Shor's algorithm is over 30.

1944 is a bit arbitrary. Szilard for one was thinking about it earlier:

> […] He conceived the nuclear chain reaction in 1933, and patented the idea in 1936. In late 1939 he wrote the letter for Albert Einstein's signature that resulted in the Manhattan Project that built the atomic bomb….

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Szilard

Partly inspired in 1932 by reading Wells' book, published in 1914:

* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_Set_Free

How long was humanity thinking about flying before the Wright brothers and 1903? We had Babbage's analytical engine (and Lovelace) in 1837, with Zuse's Z2 and the British bombes both in 1940; Zuse's Z3 in 1941.