Read that. What kind of sampling problem? What would take 10,000 years of computation to solve? Something such as tracing the trajectory of every subatomic particle after a nuclear explosion? Just a guess, I have no idea.
The quantum computing problem is not one problem but a large collection of subproblems, each with its own signature.
Some problem subsets are easier to crack than others.
It makes sense to work on the subset that can be solved to see if the solution process can be retooled for another subset.
From my reading a quantum problem solver eliminates vast swaths of numerical space to omit from further consideration or identifies large swaths that can be solved, then eliminated from further inclusion.
Basically it eliminates a lot of unnecessary dimensionality of numerical space or space that’s not at the core of that which needs to be cracked.
“What would take 10,000 years of computation to solve?”
And how do they know it gave the correct answer?