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I was thinking about Schrodinger's cat. Quantum Decoherence and Consciousness are two phenomena not yet(?) explained by science, so it's natural to wonder if th

• lutusp 14y ago
  > Quantum Decoherence and Consciousness are two phenomena not yet(?) explained by science, so it's natural to wonder if they're related to each other. I would credit the argument only if they had an association, not solely because they're both unexplained. Otherwise we could assume a connection between Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, on the dubious ground that they're both asserted to exist but with no evidence. :) > I was thinking about Schrodinger's cat. It's important to say that the Schrodinger's cat experiment is a useful thought experiment, but it can't actually be carried out -- too many ways for the system to decohere.
• thedufer 14y ago
  To clear things up, "Schrodinger's cat" was an attempt to show the absurdity of the current best interpretation of quantum mechanics (it _is_ absurd, but it still models reality to the best of our knowledge). It was never intended to be an actual experiment, nor would it actually work.
  • lutusp 14y ago
    > It was never intended to be an actual experiment, nor would it actually work. True, but it describes a theoretical property of quantum theory. Its value is only in showing the weirdness of the quantum world. The problem is that many people read about it and conclude that it's a practical experiment.