The discussion revolves around Schrödinger's cat thought experiment, specifically questioning whether the cat can be considered an observer and if the experiment should only apply to non-living objects. The scope includes interpretations of quantum mechanics, the role of decoherence, and philosophical implications of observation in quantum theory.
Participants express differing views on whether the cat can be considered an observer and the implications of this for the thought experiment. There is no consensus on the interpretations of quantum mechanics or the philosophical implications of observation.
The discussion highlights limitations in understanding the role of observation in quantum mechanics and the implications of decoherence, without resolving the underlying philosophical questions or interpretations.
In the modern decoherence viewpoint, yes, the cat can "observe" itself, meaning decohere itself, so it is either alive or dead before the box is opened.SamuelCunningham3456 said:is the cat technically the observer
In terms of decoherence there is no difference between a cat and a nonliving macroscopic object like a rock. Both have a very large number of quantum degrees of freedom and can decohere themselves.SamuelCunningham3456 said:Should Schrödinger's thought experiment only work with non living objects?
The cat is frequently misrepresented in the popular press. Schrödinger was not saying that's how he thought it worked, he was using the contradictions to show that something had to be wrong with the then-current (100 years ago, and we've figured out a lot more since then) understanding of QM.SamuelCunningham3456 said:In the Schrödinger's cat thought experiment is the cat technically the observer because The cat can observe if its alive or dyeing?
That was sort of vaguely one resolution of the problem back then, more often stated as "consciousness causes collapse". It turns out that that approach just pushes the problem around (google for "Wigner's friend") without really clearing anything up. The bigger breakthrough came a few decades later with the discovery of quantum decoherence - David Lindley's book "Where does the weirdness go?" is laymanfriendly and a pretty decent explanation - give it a try.Should Schrödinger's thought experiment only work with non living objects?