Posts Tagged ‘(Schrödinger’s Cat’
Move over, Magic Eight Ball…
As the salaries, bonuses , and options packages of America’s corporate elite continue to rise, so does their responsibility to arm themselves with the most advanced decision technology. Those sighs of relief one can hear from behind the doors of C suites and executive washrooms? They’re the bosses’ relieved reaction to Thinkgeek’s new Schrödinger’s Cat Executive Decision Maker:
When decisions need to be made, sometimes there isn’t a right choice. Hire Bob or Bob? Order pizza or Chinese? Give up your free will to the Schrödinger’s Cat Executive Decision Maker.
To use the Schrödinger’s Cat Executive Decision Maker:
– Ask your question. Any question that can be answered in a binary fashion will do. The cat is extremely bored in the box and will listen to whatever you say. It is open to questions of an executive, legislative, or personal nature. You’ll never know the answer if you don’t ask.
– Slide open the door. At this point, the magic will happen and you’ll see the cat flashing in flux between life and death. You’ll either find this disturbing or intensely magical. We won’t pass judgement on your character based on your reaction, we promise.
– See your decision solidify before you. The cat will be alive (which we interpret as a “Yes”) or dead (or “No”). The almighty Schrödinger’s Cat Executive Decision Maker has spoken. Go and do its bidding. Meow.
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As we get cozy with uncertainty, we might recall that it was on this date in 1616 that Cardinal Roberto Francesco Romolo Bellarmino decreed that Copernican theory is “false and erroneous.” It was this decree that Galileo violated, for which he was tried and put under house arrest for the last eight years of his life. Bellarmino was canonized in 1930.
San Roberto (source)
Cogito cogito ergo cogito sum…
This exploration of the challenges of time travel and five other famous thought experiments (Schrödinger’s Cat, Hilbert’s Infinite Hotel, et al.), all animated in 60 thought-provoking seconds, at the Open University’s “60-Second Adventures in Thought.”
Cogito ergo sum libens…
[TotH to Maria Popova/Brainpickings]
As we lean back in our armchairs, we might recall that it was on this date in 1964 that Sonny and Cher were hitched, if not in fact married.. The duo’s official press information from the early Sixties to the mid-Seventies averred that Sonny & Cher married October 27, 1964 in Tijuana, Mexico. In the event, Cher herself “married” them in the bathroom of their first home, where they simply exchanged rings and vows without the presence of family, friends or witnesses, or a minister.
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