Quote (EvilHomer15 @ Jul 7 2011 05:27pm)
I try to understand the multi-universe theory based off the Schrodinger's Cat-thought experiment.
I am a bit skeptic, though.
I understand that quantum physics would suggest that the cat is both alive and dead, and the subjectivity/disturbance by human presence will show us only one possibility.
If there is, however, a multiverse, it is interesting.
Another way to think about the Schroedinger's Cat thought experiment is that it redefines the idea of what causes a measurement. Conventional use of the word "observation" requires a human to directly witness an event in order to take a "measurement." However, in Quantum Mechanics, an "observation" or a "measurement" does not require human intervention. Specifically, in the Schroedinger's Cat experiment, the thing making the measurement is not the person that looks into the box. By that time the is either Alive or it is Dead. The thing that makes the observation (and thus collapses the wave function) is the Geiger counter. If the radioactive substance decays, the Geiger counter "observes" it.
I wouldn't say that Schroedinger's Cat specifically provides reason to believe that there is another universe, though. The "many worlds" interpretation of quantum mechanics is separate from that thought experiment, but application of that interpretation allows you to imagine two separate universes: one where the cat lives and one where the cat dies.