[I deleted this by accident. Sorry]
Schrödinger's Cat is the famous thought experiment created by Erwin Schrödinger to debunk a theory related to quantum theory, or quantum mechanics, or quantum something-or-other (I'm only studying physics at GCSE level, so much of my knowledge of the theory comes from Wikipedia, a YouTube video my boring teacher showed us once, a debate thread on IGGY.net, and flicking through science books in Waterstone's, so my knowledge of what it actually is is a little on the sketchy side) to debunk the Copenhagen Interpretation of a concept called 'superposition' - a state in which a radioactive atom is both decayed and not-decayed in the same instant. If you think this sounds ridiculous, you and Schrödinger would probably be best buddies. He'd think I was a nutcase, making him the latest in a very long line.
Because he agreed that this theory was stupid, he devised the following experiment: a live cat is placed in a box with a hammer, a vial of toxic nastiness (possibly cyanide in some form) and a single atom for a set period of time. If this atom decayed within the time limit, the vial would be smashed and the cat would die. If the atom did not decay, the cat would live (yay!). Either one of these scenarios wouldn't go down well with the animal welfare people, which perhaps explains why he didn't try it.
The Copenhagen Interpretation posits that, since until the box is opened we cannot tell which state the cat is in, and therefore it could, theoretically, be both alive and dead (bringing to mind an episode of M*A*S*H during which Henry Blake decides that the father of a local woman's child, based on her somewhat unhelpful description, is 'Pierce and/or McIntyre’ - more on this in a moment), but that the act of observing the cat (or, as the case may be, ex-cat) would force it to become alive or dead, as opposed to both. Schrödinger's thought experiment appears to disprove the theory - the cat being alive and dead is, quite frankly, bizarre. It's not worth thinking about. Forget it. Go Schrödinger. You've saved us all from a lifetime of stupidity.
But wait! How can we prove the cat is not in a superposition? We cannot, unless we make some form of measurement, thereby destroying the fragile balance of life and death! Schrödinger's Cat may, in fact, raise more questions about the nature of reality than it solves. Sorry, Schrödy. So, referring back to Henry's biologically impossible scenario of earlier, the cat is alive and/or dead. And this is where it gets interesting.
You see, if the life of a cat cannot be determined clearly, what else can we apply superposition to? My immediate answer to this was, of course, fandom. Or, more precisely, shipping. (Shipping, for those of you who don't know,is the act of pairing two characters -or, occasionally, real people- together. Like, together-together.) And I just so happen to be both an out-and-proud M*A*S*H fan (my dad got me into it) and die-hard shipper of Hawpper (aka HT, TH or, canonically, PierceIntyre) - that is to say, I think Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre (now you know who I was talking about earlier!) were a couple.
It doesn't matter to me that M*A*S*H was set in the 50s and they didn't really have gay rights back then. It doesn't matter to me that Trapper was married with two kids (now I sound like a total bitch, don't I?) It doesn't matter to me that he left without saying goodbye. None of this matters, because love conquers all. Yes, I know the show ended about 16 years before I was born, and no, I don't care. Some people, according to The Fault in Our Stars, just have, y'know, really faulty stars.
But what does all this have to do with Schrödy's poor, unfortunate zombie cat? Well, think back. The show never explicitly stated that Hawk and Trap were sleeping together/dating/pining over each other/whatevz (there are many different interpretations in the wonderful world of fanfiction) - but there were a hell of a lot of hints. And, although Trapper left without a word, he did give Radar a kiss to pass on to - you guessed it - Hawkeye. In spite of this, we never observed a relationship per se, yet logic tells us that there was none, so that is what most people believe. After all, between stitching up wounded and trying to get off with every nurse in camp, there was simply no time left over for each other, right? Then there's the whole homophobic-country thing, and the fact that Trap was married with two kids (I do feel a little bad about this; I'm not that heartless). Just as the odds are that the cat was dead (even if the atom didn't decay, the cat could have somehow smashed the vial itself whilst trying to escape the box - Schrödinger didn't think this through enough), it's likely that Hawk and Trap's friendship was just that. But, with probability, there's always a chance your prediction is inaccurate. The cat could still be alive. Hawpper could have been canon all along. In light of the hints I mentioned, it would fit pretty well.
If we never saw concrete evidence either way (by concrete, I mean one of them having a committed relationship that didn't involve adultery, or an outright proclamation of non-slashness), we cannot say conclusively that they weren't together. This logic applies to the vast majority of ships in any fandom, to be honest. Who says we shippers got it wrong? Who says our ships are sunk? Who says we have to listen to what canon tells us? I offer up my genuine thanks to Catman, for providing us with this proof that we cannot be disproved. I hereby dub this new variant of the theory the Seoul Interpretation. Or the Crabapple Cove Interpretation, whichever works for you.
Schrödinger would be turning in his grave.
And, with regards to the 'Pierce and/or McIntyre' conjecture (note: I may be misusing the word 'conjecture' here), I offer my insight. There's only one was that baby could belong to both of them (in case you're wondering, it bore no relation to either), and it doesn't involve her whatsoever...and it's biologically impossible under these circumstances. So there you have it.
Because he agreed that this theory was stupid, he devised the following experiment: a live cat is placed in a box with a hammer, a vial of toxic nastiness (possibly cyanide in some form) and a single atom for a set period of time. If this atom decayed within the time limit, the vial would be smashed and the cat would die. If the atom did not decay, the cat would live (yay!). Either one of these scenarios wouldn't go down well with the animal welfare people, which perhaps explains why he didn't try it.
The Copenhagen Interpretation posits that, since until the box is opened we cannot tell which state the cat is in, and therefore it could, theoretically, be both alive and dead (bringing to mind an episode of M*A*S*H during which Henry Blake decides that the father of a local woman's child, based on her somewhat unhelpful description, is 'Pierce and/or McIntyre’ - more on this in a moment), but that the act of observing the cat (or, as the case may be, ex-cat) would force it to become alive or dead, as opposed to both. Schrödinger's thought experiment appears to disprove the theory - the cat being alive and dead is, quite frankly, bizarre. It's not worth thinking about. Forget it. Go Schrödinger. You've saved us all from a lifetime of stupidity.
But wait! How can we prove the cat is not in a superposition? We cannot, unless we make some form of measurement, thereby destroying the fragile balance of life and death! Schrödinger's Cat may, in fact, raise more questions about the nature of reality than it solves. Sorry, Schrödy. So, referring back to Henry's biologically impossible scenario of earlier, the cat is alive and/or dead. And this is where it gets interesting.
You see, if the life of a cat cannot be determined clearly, what else can we apply superposition to? My immediate answer to this was, of course, fandom. Or, more precisely, shipping. (Shipping, for those of you who don't know,is the act of pairing two characters -or, occasionally, real people- together. Like, together-together.) And I just so happen to be both an out-and-proud M*A*S*H fan (my dad got me into it) and die-hard shipper of Hawpper (aka HT, TH or, canonically, PierceIntyre) - that is to say, I think Hawkeye Pierce and Trapper John McIntyre (now you know who I was talking about earlier!) were a couple.
It doesn't matter to me that M*A*S*H was set in the 50s and they didn't really have gay rights back then. It doesn't matter to me that Trapper was married with two kids (now I sound like a total bitch, don't I?) It doesn't matter to me that he left without saying goodbye. None of this matters, because love conquers all. Yes, I know the show ended about 16 years before I was born, and no, I don't care. Some people, according to The Fault in Our Stars, just have, y'know, really faulty stars.
But what does all this have to do with Schrödy's poor, unfortunate zombie cat? Well, think back. The show never explicitly stated that Hawk and Trap were sleeping together/dating/pining over each other/whatevz (there are many different interpretations in the wonderful world of fanfiction) - but there were a hell of a lot of hints. And, although Trapper left without a word, he did give Radar a kiss to pass on to - you guessed it - Hawkeye. In spite of this, we never observed a relationship per se, yet logic tells us that there was none, so that is what most people believe. After all, between stitching up wounded and trying to get off with every nurse in camp, there was simply no time left over for each other, right? Then there's the whole homophobic-country thing, and the fact that Trap was married with two kids (I do feel a little bad about this; I'm not that heartless). Just as the odds are that the cat was dead (even if the atom didn't decay, the cat could have somehow smashed the vial itself whilst trying to escape the box - Schrödinger didn't think this through enough), it's likely that Hawk and Trap's friendship was just that. But, with probability, there's always a chance your prediction is inaccurate. The cat could still be alive. Hawpper could have been canon all along. In light of the hints I mentioned, it would fit pretty well.
If we never saw concrete evidence either way (by concrete, I mean one of them having a committed relationship that didn't involve adultery, or an outright proclamation of non-slashness), we cannot say conclusively that they weren't together. This logic applies to the vast majority of ships in any fandom, to be honest. Who says we shippers got it wrong? Who says our ships are sunk? Who says we have to listen to what canon tells us? I offer up my genuine thanks to Catman, for providing us with this proof that we cannot be disproved. I hereby dub this new variant of the theory the Seoul Interpretation. Or the Crabapple Cove Interpretation, whichever works for you.
Schrödinger would be turning in his grave.
And, with regards to the 'Pierce and/or McIntyre' conjecture (note: I may be misusing the word 'conjecture' here), I offer my insight. There's only one was that baby could belong to both of them (in case you're wondering, it bore no relation to either), and it doesn't involve her whatsoever...and it's biologically impossible under these circumstances. So there you have it.
