See quantum error blog posted 16 December 2014
Beware the folly of copying text without checking its veracity – oops.
How to understand quantum mechanics? A quick google to check the spelling of Heidegger gave me this website [no longer valid website]
“The example of the probability wave staying unreal until it is observed is Heidegger’s Cat. In a strange experiment a box is created with a poison gas trap attached. When shut, the box has a fifty percent chance of releasing the poison. But if it is opened, it immediately releases the gas. Now, the box is impermeable. Once closed you cannot detect what happens inside. Now you put Heidegger’s cat inside and close the lid. The cat, according to physicists, is fifty percent alive. It is neither dead nor alive. It is both, simultaneously, for once you open the box to check, you invalidate the experiment. Since no one can perceive inside the box, the cat exists as neither dead nor alive. Bet that’ll cook your noodle.”
odespinner 