So, OK, like I was over at The House Next Door because it's like one of my favorite blogs, right? And I was making an observation that, in the last episode of "LOST"-- it was called "The Man From Tallahassee" -- when Ben tells Locke the story about a big box on the island where you could imagine anything you want inside, that it was really like a reference to Schrödinger's Cat in quantum physics, eh? It's like quantum indeterminacy, 'cause anything could be in the box but you don't know until you open it, right? OK then, so until you can see what's in the box, all the possibilities exist at once. Whatever's in there is in a superposition because it's there and not there at the same time. And, like, so is everybody watching "LOST" because we don't know what's in the big box; we just know what's in the little boxes, like the hatch and the Virgin Mary statues and stuff. And the box factory. So, then I thought I should put in a link to something about Schrödinger's Cat and I Googled it and I found this awesome video that's, like, the best thing I've ever seen on the Internet! Especially when a dog like enters the equations. The guy is Gary Burgess (but not like the guy who played Radar on "M*A*S*H" because he was Gary Burghoff, OK) and I think he's like Canadian, like if Doug and Bob McKenzie were quantum physi-cizists -- oh, Jeez! -- or something like that. So, the topic is Schrödinger's Cat and this is the video, so click on it and that's all, so g'day. And hose off, eh?
Plus, Ben is like Henry Gale, too, so he's in two states at the same time, eh?
What The Bleep did a better job of explaining quantum physics. The Infamous Double-Slit Experiment!
I dug the Schrodigner's Cat reference. I think the magic box was also a reference to the show itself. Reality doesn't exist within, for example, the Lost universe, until we observe it (through the box of the television--and indeed Locke's former job at a box factory seems to me to be a reference to The Simpsons' box factory episode, so a big television reference there). But because it's a television show, it's not quite as probabilistically determined as usual quantum phenomena, just like the island is completely built up from coincidences. Locke's greatest wish/fear is to see his father, and so, though we might not realize it yet, is ours.
I'm in fourth year engineering physics in undergrad. My friends got me a T-shirt with the nickname "Schrodinger's Cat" because they would never know whether I'd be in class or not until they arrived and observed my presence or absense.
I love how he rocks back and forth, dramatically shifting the shot's composition every time he does so.
I must admit that I never bought the Schrodinger's Cat virtual experiment stuff. "Tell that to the cat," I say. If I hadn't seen "Dreamgirls," would a world exist in which it's a good movie?
I have been enjoying several of the recent LOST episodes, though.
I'm still a bit confused by the this whole cat/box/quantum indeterminate thing.
Jim, you seem to be saying that ANYTHING could exist inside the box, but this strikes me as false. A 4x4 inch "S-box" couldn't contain the state of Texas because the object's size would exceed that of the S-box. Or is there something I'm overlooking?
Also, if the S-box existed outside of reality I suppose all preconceived rules wouldn't apply...?
Makes my head hurt.
JE: David, my head hurts, too, but I think it's because I just banged it on the kitchen cabinet door. I'm just saying the metaphor on "Lost" of a box in which "anything you want" could be inside (and that until you've opened it, all possibilities exist simultaneously) has similarities to the Schrodinger's Cat thought experiment. (Remember, it was not a real experiment, just a thought experiment, a metaphor to illustrate a theoretical idea.) You're right, of course, that the state of Texas couldn't fit in the box (and wouldn't fit on the island[s] of "Lost," 'cause Texas is bigger than they are), but I'm only talking about the concept as a metaphor. I don't know enough about quantum physics to see it any other way!
That guy is amazing! I wish I could go back through high school with this guy as my teacher. And have him bring his dog too.
The important thing about Schroedinger's cat (shrow-ding-urr, not shrow-din-jerr) is that, like he said, the nuclear decay is a quantum event. If you had a random number generator instead of a lump of uranium, you wouldn't have the same thing Schroedinger is talking about. The key thing here is that quantum physics posits that a quantum event does not either happen or not happen until you observe it. Watch the double slit experiment video, and you will see an example of how physicists believe the subatomic world is directly affected by the simple act of observation.
By the way, I really don't know what you see in this guy. He seems a bit disorganized. He needs a few public speaking classes.
JE: I think he's hilarious. Guess you're not a fan of SCTV's "The Great White North," eh? 'Cause he's just like Bob and Doug, only he's the real deal. And one of the things I like best about this (besides the dog) is the way he Canadianizes the pronunciation of Schrodinger.
. . . or, as Stephen Hawking once put it, "not only does God play dice, but... he sometimes throws them where they cannot be seen.”
I used to watch Ebert & Roeper,and go by their critiques of movies;but I was always dissappointed in the movies they recommended.They were very "PC" and "diverse",ect.,but they were often boring and bad movies.I finally realized that Ebert and Roeper have become bad movie critics,and I could no longer rely on their judgement.So,I stopped listening to them,or reading their reviews and often depend on viewer's reviews of movies,cause they have less B.S.and "agenda"than professional movie critics.Now I am a somewhat happy movie goer,cause I know other regular people are more honest about movies,and I can rely on them not b.s.ing me.