Schrödinger's cat Dead and Alive

[SimonMac]

<placeholder>

[eek]

Surely if you wait long enough it will die of starvation and thirst.

[stek]

Surely if you wait long enough it will die of starvation and thirst.

Yes but you won't know until you observe the dead moggy, it might be turbo-cat...


Sent from AIX using vi

[alluvial]

Ah, but has the universe split into two, thus having a dead and an alive cat? And of course, if you open the box to observe it, then you will exist in both universes as well, one where you observe a dead moggy, and one where you observe a live one that jumps out of the box and rakes its claws down your legs.
But then, could the latter universe also split if the cat isn't sure whether to scratch you bloody or purr and try for a bit of fresh tuna?
And what about in the first one where a virus has a 50% chance of mutating into something that can re-animate dead tissue and so that would split as well.

I need to get out more.

[nomadd]

Ah, but has the universe split into two, thus having a dead and an alive cat? And of course, if you open the box to observe it, then you will exist in both universes as well, one where you observe a dead moggy, and one where you observe a live one that jumps out of the box and rakes its claws down your legs.
But then, could the latter universe also split if the cat isn't sure whether to scratch you bloody or purr and try for a bit of fresh tuna?
And what about in the first one where a virus has a 50% chance of mutating into something that can re-animate dead tissue and so that would split as well.

I need to get out more.

Or get a cat.

[scooterscot]

Schrödinger'scat is alive and well

[SimonMac]

Ah, but has the universe split into two, thus having a dead and an alive cat? And of course, if you open the box to observe it, then you will exist in both universes as well, one where you observe a dead moggy, and one where you observe a live one that jumps out of the box and rakes its claws down your legs.
But then, could the latter universe also split if the cat isn't sure whether to scratch you bloody or purr and try for a bit of fresh tuna?
And what about in the first one where a virus has a 50% chance of mutating into something that can re-animate dead tissue and so that would split as well.

I need to get out more.

Although if you believe in the multi-verse theory, of an infinite parallel universes with an infinite number of possibilities, somewhere the cat is dead, alive and also Batman

[scooterscot]

Although if you believe in the multi-verse theory, of an infinite parallel universes with an infinite number of possibilities, somewhere the cat is dead, alive and also Batman

I'm more of a steady state big bang man myself.

[NotAllThere]

Although if you believe in the multi-verse theory, of an infinite parallel universes with an infinite number of possibilities, somewhere the cat is dead, alive and also Batman

It is entirely possible to have an infinite number of universes, and not one of them where the cat is Batman. In the same way that there are an infinite number of odd numbers, and not one of them is even.

[VectraMan]

I've recently reread the whole Hitchhikers trilogy.

The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in what we laughingly call the past, had a great deal to say on the subject of parallel universes. Very little of this is, however, at all comprehensible to anyone below the level of Advanced God, and since it is now well established that all known gods came into existence a good three-millionths of a second after the Universe began rather than, as they usually claimed, the previous week, they already have a great deal of explaining to do as it is, and therefore not available for comment on matters of deep physics at this time.

One encouraging thing the Guide does have to say on the subject of parallel universes is that you don't stand the remotest chance of understanding it. You can therefore say "What?" and "Eh?" and even go cross-eyed and start to blither if you like without any fear of making a fool of yourself.

The first thing to realise about parallel universes, the Guide says, is that they are not parallel.

It is also important to realize that they are not, strictly speaking, universes either, but it is easiest if you try and realize that a little later, after you've realized that everything you've realized up to that moment is not true.

The reason they are not universes is that any given universe is not actually a thing as such, but is just a way of looking at what is technically known as the WSOGMM, or Whole Sort of General Mish Mash. The Whole Sort of General Mish Mash doesn't actually exist either, but is just the sum total of all the different ways there would be of looking at it if it did.

The reason they are not parallel is the same reason that the sea is not parallel. It doesn't mean anything. You can slice the Whole Sort of General Mish Mash any way you like and you will generally come up with something that someone will call home.

Please feel free to blither now.

HTH.