Schrödinger's Cat: Difference between revisions

** Pratchett makes multiple references to this. In ''The Unadulturated Cat'', the theory is used to explain the ability of [[Offscreen Teleportation]] that all cats seem to have (apparently, the cat was so distressed by being locked in a box with radioactive materials, it became an instant expert in teleportation)

** In ''[[Discworld/Lords and Ladies|Lords and Ladies]]'' the motif is spoofed once again, when the cat locked in the box turns out to be Greebo.

* An incarnation of Schrödinger's Cat appears in ''[[Wyrm]]''. It looks and acts a lot like the Cheshire Cat from ''[[Alice in Wonderland]]''. {{spoiler|But it's actually an avatar of Wyrm.}}

* In ''Crushed'' by Laura and Tom [[Mc Neal]], this becomes a critical plot point after {{spoiler|Wickham reveals his past to Audrey}}.

* ''[[Ghost Trick]]'' has a rather... literal interpretation of the trope. {{spoiler|To be exact, by the end of the game, Sissel is de-facto a ''dead-immortal'' cat.}}

* In a supplemental ''[[Portal (series)|Portal]]'' comic:

** The same comic later compares Chell to the cat, surviving in stasis but with no guarantee she'll ever be woken up.

** There was an achievement in ''[[Portal 2]]'' called Schrödinger's Catch, which involved catching a box before it hit the ground. Obviously a reference to the cat, and likely also a reference to the comic.

** Also mentioned by the Fact Core:

** One of Ratman's dens early in the game has a diagram of a cat apparently jumping out of a box, with quantum physics equations scribbled all over it.

* Selected randomly as a gambling device in the [[Betting Minigame|Money-Making Game]] in ''[[Kingdom of Loathing]]'', where the winner is decided by one player guessing whether the cat is alive or dead. Of course, you don't actually get to choose.

* [http://irregularwebcomic.net/1944.html This] strip of ''[[Irregular Webcomic]]'' references Schrödinger's thought experiment in the punchline, but you'll notice that the explanatory note below the comic starts off talking about ''Heisenberg''. As DMM points out in the final paragraph, the punchline of the comic existed in a state of flux while he was writing [[The Rant]].

** [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=2846 Later], [[Myth Busters|Jamie and Adam]] remove the "thought" from "thought experiment" and actually set up Schrödinger's Cat with an actual box and an actual cat. [http://www.irregularwebcomic.net/comic.php?current=2853 Next MythBusters strip], after Jamie says there's no way to determine whether the cat is alive or dead without opening the box and observing the cat, [[Crowning Moment of Funny|Adam kicks it and makes it yowl]].

* ''[[Luke Surl]]'' [http://www.lukesurl.com/archives/2280 explains] why the cat is dead.

** In [http://www.lukesurl.com/archives/227 an earlier strip], he drew some interesting parallels with classic literature.

* A classroom lecture on Schrödinger's Cat is given in [http://www.spy6teen.com/comic-1/page-19/ this] page of [http://www.spy6teen.com/ Spy6teen]

* [http://dresdencodak.com/2006/02/13/trouble-in-memphis/ This] early ''[[Dresden Codak]]'' comic.

(Niels Bohr, in a purple cat disguise, is seen hiding in a bush.) }}

* Doug Rattman, at the end of ''[[Portal 2]]: Lab Rat'' (comic that ties the two [[Portal (series)|Portal]] games together), considers Chell to be like a Schrödinger's Cat.

* Referenced in [http://www.explosm.net/comics/949/ this] ''[[Cyanide and Happiness]]'' comic.

* ''[[Scenes From A Multiverse]]'' has fun with this in [http://amultiverse.com/2010/08/12/heisenphron-day/ this strip], which briefly presents an entire civilization based on the uncertainty theory, including universal ownership of celebratory "cat boxes".

== Real Life ==

* A famous quote by [[Stephen Hawking]] is the following: "When I hear about Schrödinger's cat, I reach for my gun." [http://physics.about.com/od/quantumphysics/f/schroedcat.htm I'll allow About.com to explain this]:

** It's either that or a crippling fear of [[Everything's Deader with Zombies|zombie cats]].

*** ''Radioactive'' zombie cats.