Schrödinger's Cat

In 1935 Erwin Schrödinger proposed an experiment to explain the Coopenhagen interpretation of Quantam Mechanics, in which a cat is placed in a box with a sealed vile of poison that would break open when radiation was detected by a Geiger counter. Since no one could tell whether the cat is alive or dead it can be thought of as both alive and dead.

As this is a thought experiment I felt that it should be on my thoughts blog.

One can even set up quite ridiculous cases. A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with the following device (which must be secured against direct interference by the cat): in a Geiger counter, there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance, so small that perhaps in the course of the hour, one of the atoms decays, but also, with equal probability, perhaps none; if it happens, the counter tube discharges, and through a relay releases a hammer that shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid. If one has left this entire system to itself for an hour, one would say that the cat still lives if meanwhile no atom has decayed. The psi-function of the entire system would express this by having in it the living and dead cat (pardon the expression) mixed or smeared out in equal parts. It is typical of these cases that an indeterminacy originally restricted to the atomic domain becomes transformed into macroscopic indeterminacy, which can then be resolved by direct observation. That prevents us from so naively accepting as valid a "blurred model" for representing reality. In itself, it would not embody anything unclear or contradictory. There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks.

—Erwin Schrödinger

Erwin Schrödinger

Each of these three rows is a wavefunction which satisfies the time-dependent Schrödinger equation for a harmonic oscillator. Left: The real part (blue) and imaginary part (red) of the wavefunction. Right: The probability distribution of finding the particle with this wavefunction at a given position. The top two rows are examples of stationary states, which correspond to standing waves. The bottom row an example of a state which is not a stationary state. The right column illustrates why stationary states are called "stationary".

Pedantics Anonymous

Pedanticism is pointing out and correcting people who state details that are wrong in often the smallest detail. I am rather pedantic and am often told to look at the big picture. The big picture is made up of lots of tiny, seemingly insignificant pictures that are required for the big picture to be gazed upon.

On the other hand having pointless facts pointed out to you all the time must be tedious and so it would seem necessary for one who is pedantic to look upon the infamous big picture, that I have spoken of so much, and not focus on the tiny incorrect details.

Time

If we accept the Doctors theory (Blink season 3) that time is not, contrary to popular belief, a strict progression of cause to affect but rather a big ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. Admittedly this is not very understandable. Imagine a race track with all runners starting at the same point and finishing at the same point, in a straight line therefore a strict proggression of cause to affect. Now imagine a fish bowl containing several types of fish all going a different direction in different ways or if you like wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff. This then means that we are in a metaphorical fish. A fish being an era in time we are but a scale on a very small fish in an endless flowing orb of time. This makes us seem very small and insignificant but quite to the contrary we are a a very small thing that makes up a far bigger thing much like how atoms make up everything around us we are part of a far bigger universe which may in fact be a speck in a far bigger multiverse this can theoretically go on for ever however this is bringing me off my point. I am not saying that anything I have mentioned above is correct but merely it is a theory. One of a milion, million theories only few of which have any merrit at all. This is simply an interesting thought that I decided to discuss.

Steampunk

Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction. It is generally set in a Victorian era, post-apocalyptic wold or an alternate world. There are quite a few novels and movies to do with Steampunk most people have seen or read one. It incorporates technology that runs on steam power and technology that works with gears and cogs. It is not well known but it is very interesting.

These are an example of Steampunk technology.







For a list of Steampunk works please see the link below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_steampunk_works

Sherlock Holmes Knowledge

A Study In Scarlet was the first novel that Arthur Conan Doyle wrote about Sherlock Holmes in it Watson details what Sherlock knows. Very interesting.

1. Knowledge of Literature – nil.
2. Knowledge of Philosophy – nil.
3. Knowledge of Astronomy – nil.
4. Knowledge of Politics – Feeble.
5. Knowledge of Botany – Variable. Well up in belladonna, opium and poisons generally. Knows nothing of practical gardening.
6. Knowledge of Geology – Practical, but limited. Tells at a glance different soils from each other. After walks, has shown me splashes upon his trousers, and told me by their colour and consistence in what part of London he had received them.
7. Knowledge of Chemistry – Profound.
8. Knowledge of Anatomy – Accurate, but unsystematic.
9. Knowledge of Sensational Literature – Immense. He appears to know every detail of every horror perpetrated in the century.
10. Plays the violin well.
11. Is an expert singlestick player, boxer and swordsman.
12. Has a good practical knowledge of British law.

Finnegans Wake Continued

I have now bought a copy of Finnegans Wake. I find it baffling, perplexing and astronomically confusing. Partly because it deviates languages here and there sometimes older styles of English then some Irish and the occasional made up word. The following is the first page of Finnegans Wake word for word:

riverrun, past Eve and Adam's, from swerve of shore to bend
of bay, brings us by a commodius vicus of recirculation back to
Howth Castle and Environs.
Sir Tristram, violer d'amores, fr'over the short sea, had passen-
core rearrived from North Armorica on this side the scraggy
isthmus of Europe Minor to wielderfight his penisolate war: nor
had topsawyer's rocks by the stream Oconee exaggerated themselse
to Laurens County's gorgios while they went doublin their mumper
all the time: nor avoice from afire bellowsed mishe mishe to
tauftauf thuartpeatrick: not yet, though venissoon after, had a
kidscad buttended a bland old isaac: not yet, though all's fair in
vanessy, were sosie sesthers wroth with twone nathandjoe. Rot a
peck of pa's malt had Jhem or Shen brewed by arclight and rory
end to the regginbrow was to be seen ringsome on the aquaface.
The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonner-
ronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawnskawntoohoohoordenenthur-
nuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later
on life down through all christian minstrelsy. The great fall of the
offwall entailed at such short notice the pftjschute of Finnegan,
erse solid man, that the humptyhillhead of humself prumptly sends
an unquiring one well to the west in quest of his tumptytumtoes:
and their upturnpikepointandplace is at the knock out in the park
where oranges have been laid to rust upon the green since dev-
linsfirst loved livvy. This is literally the first page of a 628 page book all with the same poetic gobbledygook that only few can comprehend. Though i cannot understand a word of it i still find it very interesting and mystifying.

Finnegans Wake

Finnegans Wake written by James Joyce is widely considered the hardest to understand book in the English language. The following is an exert from Finnegans Wake:

"Thus the unfacts, did we possess them, are too imprecisely few to warrant our certitude..."

Joyce said that his book was written about the night and that he couldn't write it straight forward because when one is half-conscious or unconscious ones mind is not focused so he felt that only the idiosyncratic language he used could capture what he was trying to say.
Certainly interesting if not utterly baffling.

BB-C

Murder Mystery

Murder Mystery Riddle:

Mr Barrymore was found dead in his spacious bungalow. Five other people were in the house at the time. Mrs Franklin was in the Kitchen cooking their dinner, Mr Prescott was in the sitting room reading, Mr Thompson and Mr Rudolf were upstairs playing chess and Mrs Barrymore was in the garden picking leeks to be put in the dinner. Who killed Mr Barrymore?

Time For A Riddle

Something else I will be putting in this blog is riddles, puzzles and mysteries to be solved which require a lot of thinking to solve. The first of which is is this Sherlock Holmes riddle i found on the internet:

One snowy night, Sherlock Holmes was in his house sitting by a fire. All of a sudden a snowball came crashing through his window, breaking it.
Holmes got up and looked out the window just in time to see three neighborhood kids who were brothers run around a corner. Their names were John Crimson, Mark Crimson and Paul Crimson.
The next day Holmes got a note on his door that read "? Crimson. He broke your window."
Which of the three Crimson brothers should Sherlock Holmes question about the incident?

If you think you know what the answer is please comment and I will get back to you.

First Post On Thoughts

"Thoughts" is an interesting topic that I have decided to blog about. I will be discussing my thoughts on various matters including thinking itself. I am not going to blog about what I had for breakfast, what my favourite song is or any pointless facts about me. I am merely discussing opinions, interesting facts and other thoughtful reading.

BB-C