Playing the lotery is a good analogy to the Schroedinger cat experiment. That is, as long as you don’t check the numbers

  • Wolf314159@startrek.website
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    3 months ago

    This is a gross misinterpretation of the Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment and how the lottery actually works. That said, this is genuinely a shower thought because it’s logic evaporates as quickly as you dry off and put your thinking pants on.

    • I suffered from the wrong interpretation myself for a long time, and I think it’s worth a brief explanation as to why it is wrong. It’s clear why so many people misunderstand it, and I’m incapable of providing a concise, correct explanation to other people myself. But I like to see other people try, and hope one day to come across an elegant explanation that I can plagiarize.

    • HenriVolney@sh.itjust.worksOP
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      3 months ago

      Well you have both won and not won the lotery as long as you don’t check the results = measure the results of the experiment

      • Fonzie!@ttrpg.network
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        3 months ago

        Hm. I suppose you could see it like that philosophically.

        I’d say it more like, you have not won yet until you check and see you’ve won, but I guess that train of thought works, as well.

  • spittingimage@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Schrödinger was responsible for so much good work in science, but all we remember him for is his cruelty to animals. :(