Playing the lotery is a good analogy to the Schroedinger cat experiment. That is, as long as you don’t check the numbers

  • Wolf314159@startrek.website
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    17
    ·
    2 months ago

    This is a gross misinterpretation of the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment and how the lottery actually works. That said, this is genuinely a shower thought because it’s logic evaporates as quickly as you dry off and put your thinking pants on.

    • I suffered from the wrong interpretation myself for a long time, and I think it’s worth a brief explanation as to why it is wrong. It’s clear why so many people misunderstand it, and I’m incapable of providing a concise, correct explanation to other people myself. But I like to see other people try, and hope one day to come across an elegant explanation that I can plagiarize.

  • Except that Schrödinger was trying to exemplify how impractical the Copenhagen interpretation was; that trying to apply quantum properties to systems larger than atoms would be extremely difficult, if not impossible.

  • spittingimage@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    arrow-up
    3
    ·
    2 months ago

    Schrödinger was responsible for so much good work in science, but all we remember him for is his cruelty to animals. :(

    • HenriVolney@sh.itjust.worksOP
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      2 months ago

      Well you have both won and not won the lotery as long as you don’t check the results = measure the results of the experiment

      • Fonzie!@ttrpg.network
        link
        fedilink
        arrow-up
        3
        arrow-down
        1
        ·
        2 months ago

        Hm. I suppose you could see it like that philosophically.

        I’d say it more like, you have not won yet until you check and see you’ve won, but I guess that train of thought works, as well.