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Daisy_Cutter
1288
Dec 3, 2017
I want to like this because it's so ballsy, but I can't get past the fact that this seems to be based on a fundamental misapprehension of the Schrödinger's Cat paradox.
[Skip this paragraph if you already know all about the Schrödinger's Cat paradox] Essentially, under a popular interpretation of quantum physics, a quantum system (e.g. a radioactive atom) exists in a superposition of various possible states but does not adopt any given state until it is observed or interacted with. Erwin Schrödinger proposed his cat paradox to highlight the absurdity of this interpretation; essentially, you put a cat in an opaque box that is rigged to a small amount of radioactive material, such that if the radioactive material decays and triggers a geiger counter, poison will be released into the box and the cat will die. Since the radioactive material exists in a superposition of states (decayed and non-decayed), and the cat's being alive or dead depends on the state of the radioactive material, then the cat must consequently also be in a superposition of states; i.e. both alive and dead. It is only when you open the box that both the radioactive material and the cat's state collapse into one or the other.
There are two problems with this conception of "Schrödinger's Watch". First, a watch movement is not a quantum system, and doesn't exhibit quantum effects. Second, and more significantly, the uncertainty derived from not being able to actually read your watch is trivial. Either your watch is accurate, or it is not. Either way, there is an objective measure of time that is external to your watch and will keep marching on regardless of what your watch says (or doesn't say because you can't read it).
There is a way to make a truly meaningful Schrödinger's Watch. The first step would involve miniaturizing an ultra high-precision atomic clock to the size of a wristwatch. Next, get all the countries in the world to agree that this miniature atomic clock is the world's master clock (i.e. whatever time it displays, that is The Time for the entire human race). The world must also agree that its existing network of atomic clocks is not definitive but merely an approximation of the master clock. Finally, fully cover or remove the display of the new master clock, mount it on straps, and sell it.
This would truly be Schrödinger's Watch. This miniature atomic clock would be a quantum system which is unobserved and therefore exists in a superposition of states (decaying faster, slower, or not at all). Since what Time it is depends on the state of the Watch, the Time is therefore also in a superposition of states, which could be literally any time from the manufacture of the Schrödinger's Watch.
The upshot is that the owner of Schrödinger's Watch will never again be late for a meeting, because the Time could well be whatever he says it is. This is what it would truly mean to not follow the time, but take the time with you.
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