[Cboldt]

I've been a physics fan for decades. Recently started reading again, just to see what's new, etc. Best book so far, out of the half dozen or so, is "Hidden in Plain Sight"

Hidden in Plain Sight Kindle Edition is 99 cents. The author is Andrew Thomas.

It helps, I think, if you've been exposed to quantum and relativity for awhile, and are either in awe or puzzled that the two regimes don't reconcile.

The other stuff I've been reading is heavy on string theory, which is sort of interesting and aims to put some more meat on what Mr. Thomas is getting at; and books about "dark matter" and "dark energy." Very strange physical world we live in, in many many ways.

[Fester Chugabrew]

You seem to be reading material similar to what my older brother reads. He’s a virtual wealth of conversation when it comes to the deeper things of science and discussing them in layman’s terms.

[Chode]

i've taken physics and read some quantum and string, but in the case of the cat there is or there isn't, not maybe... and the viewing of it makes no difference in the outcome at all that i can see, but then again i'm no physicist

and if things are in parallel universes, they aren't the same thing anyway

[Misterioso]

Very strange physical world we live in, in many many ways.

Strange? As opposed to what, familiar? Physical? As opposed to what, mental? Relax, everything will be all right.

[Chode]

for 99c i'll pick one up with my next amazon order, thx

[muawiyah]

Years ago ~ decades really ~ I worked for a half dozen statisticians who'd developed the RPW system for the Post Office Department ~ they later on worked on the Cost-Revenue Ascertainment system (a manifestation of the same objective).

These guys were a lot of fun. Most of them had served in WWII or the Korean War and every day was a breath of fresh air for them ~ even the crotchity ones.

So they had a feel ~ a real personal feel for probability.

Their hobbies were either dabbling in quantum physics, or figuring out what the structure of the elements was all about ~ plus visiting the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem as soon as that could be done. WWII had done things to their life's links that were simply incredible.

So, smart guys, right attitude, and well experienced in everything. Each one of them had his own interpretation for the Schroedinger Cat theorm. In fact, that little tale fell right in the middle of a sampling algorithm dilemma they'd come up with ~ which is very simple. When you have an ongoing continual process and you need to reach in and take a snapshot of just a second of time and something comes up that prevents you from doing so, what is the correct prophylaxis to take another sample at another time that will PROBABLY (Within some degree of certainty) replace the lost data?

Remembering that each little 1 second snapshot is going to represent hours of work and thousands of pieces of mail down the road as the typical second is structured for total agency operating costs, can you just wait 5 and try it again? Or is it more complex ~

These people consciously killed Schroedinger's cat every day ~ usually several times ~ because there's the answer to the question of when can you repeat your action and get the same result?

As I recall it if you kill the cat you can never repeat the action, so you gotta' leave the cat alone!

Decades later more advanced string theory theoreticians are getting more deeply into this problem ~ so I follow that stuff just in case one of them comes up with a better solution than just out and out killing the cat ~ the only action that allows you to stick a (new) kitty back in the box and strive for a different, but otherwise identical, result.

Then there's a whole school of thought with thousands of members who dispute the relevance of that cat to anything.

[I see my hands]

"Strange" "Insane"

It will be the ultimate cruelty if we are never given a glimpse of the mystery.