Cat pics!

[CaptainHenreh]

-30 minutes of googling later-

I'll lay it out for you in a poem:
Schroedinger, Erwin! Professor of physics!
Wrote daring equations! Confounded his critics!
(Not bad, eh? Don't worry. This part of the verse
Starts off pretty good, but it gets a lot worse.)
Win saw that the theory that Newton'd invented
By Einstein's discov'ries had been badly dented.
What now? wailed his colleagues. Said Erwin, "Don't panic,
No grease monkey I, but a quantum mechanic.
Consider electrons. Now, these teeny articles
Are sometimes like waves, and then sometimes like particles.
If that's not confusing, the nuclear dance
Of electrons and suchlike is governed by chance!
No sweat, though--my theory permits us to judge
Where some of 'em is and the rest of 'em was."
Not everyone bought this. It threatened to wreck
The comforting linkage of cause and effect.
E'en Einstein had doubts, and so Schroedinger tried
To tell him what quantum mechanics implied.
Said Win to Al, "Brother, suppose we've a cat,
And inside a tube we have put that cat at--
Along with a solitaire deck and some Fritos,
A bottle of Night Train, a couple mosquitoes
(Or something else rhyming) and, oh, if you got 'em,
One vial prussic acid, one decaying ottom
Or atom--whatever--but when it emits,
A trigger device blasts the vial into bits
Which snuffs our poor kitty. The odds of this crime
Are 50 to 50 per hour each time.
The cylinder's sealed. The hour's passed away. Is
Our pussy still purring--or pushing up daisies?
Now, you'd say the cat either lives or it don't
But quantum mechanics is stubborn and won't.
Statistically speaking, the cat (goes the joke),
Is half a cat breathing and half a cat croaked.
To some this may seem a ridiculous split,
But quantum mechanics must answer, "Tough @#&!
We may not know much, but one thing's fo' sho':
There's things in the cosmos that we cannot know.
Shine light on electrons--you'll cause them to swerve.
The act of observing disturbs the observed--
Which ruins your test. But then if there's no testing
To see if a particle's moving or resting
Why try to conjecture? Pure useless endeavor!
We know probability--certainty, never.'
The effect of this notion? I very much fear
'Twill make doubtful all things that were formerly clear.
Till soon the cat doctors will say in reports,
"We've just flipped a coin and we've learned he's a corpse."'
So saith Herr Erwin. Quoth Albert, "You're nuts.
God doesn't play dice with the universe, putz.
I'll prove it!" he said, and the Lord knows he tried--
In vain--until fin'ly he more or less died.
Win spoke at the funeral: "Listen, dear friends,
Sweet Al was my buddy. I must make amends.
Though he doubted my theory, I'll say of this saint:
Ten-to-one he's in heaven--but five bucks says he ain't."

(thanks unca cecil)

So the question isn't whether the cat's IN the fucking box, but whether it's alive or dead.

[HAULN-SS]

no shit, but the idea is generally funny, and one could argue that a dead cat is no longer in the box, and i'm quite sure they're not going to put a dead cat in a box for a picture.

oh, and i've studied quite a bit quantum cryptography theory, and don't need you or anyone else explaining the ideas behind it to me, thanks

[CaptainHenreh]

no shit, but the idea is generally funny, and one could argue that a dead cat is no longer in the box..

Seriously? Zombie Cat or what?

oh, and i've studied quite a bit quantum cryptography theory, and don't need you or anyone else explaining the ideas behind it to me, thanks

[ScottyB]

cats with silly captions to quantum cat theory. a logical progression.

[mrbaggio]

no shit, but the idea is generally funny, and one could argue that a dead cat is no longer in the box, and i'm quite sure they're not going to put a dead cat in a box for a picture.

oh, and i've studied quite a bit quantum cryptography theory, and don't need you or anyone else explaining the ideas behind it to me, thanks

How does what you said above apply to the cat picture you posted?

[HAULN-SS]

I was just kidding when I said that, implying that perhaps the "spirit of the cat" flew off...thus the dead body still being there, and "the cat" being somewhere else

[ScottyB]

but.....that's not funny. i'll give you a B for effort though.

[mrbaggio]

Did you make the picture?

[CaptainHenreh]

I was just kidding when I said that, implying that perhaps the "spirit of the cat" flew off...thus the dead body still being there, and "the cat" being somewhere else

From stupid cat pictures, to quantum uncertainty, to fucking existential foundation questions.

This place is crazy.

Also, I'll have you know, that Quantum uncertainty is bullshit. Spooky Action proves this (IMHO) and continuing to cling to this sacred cow is just adding years onto our Unified Theory.

But whatever, I'm not a physicist like apparently YOU are.

[Ryan T]

I dunno if anyone is interested in it or not, but here is the original poem that prompted Cecil's response in poetry form.

Dear Cecil:

Cecil, you're my final hope
Of finding out the true Straight Dope
For I have been reading of Schroedinger's cat
But none of my cats are at all like that.
This unusual animal (so it is said)
Is simultaneously live and dead!
What I don't understand is just why he
Can't be one or other, unquestionably.
My future now hangs in between eigenstates.
In one I'm enlightened, the other I ain't.
If you understand, Cecil, then show me the way
And rescue my psyche from quantum decay.
But if this queer thing has perplexed even you,
Then I will and won't see you in Schroedinger's zoo.
--Randy F., Chicago

I'll lay it out for you in a poem:
Schroedinger, Erwin! Professor of physics!
Wrote daring equations! Confounded his critics!
(Not bad, eh? Don't worry. This part of the verse
Starts off pretty good, but it gets a lot worse.)
Win saw that the theory that Newton'd invented
By Einstein's discov'ries had been badly dented.
What now? wailed his colleagues. Said Erwin, "Don't panic,
No grease monkey I, but a quantum mechanic.
Consider electrons. Now, these teeny articles
Are sometimes like waves, and then sometimes like particles.
If that's not confusing, the nuclear dance
Of electrons and suchlike is governed by chance!
No sweat, though--my theory permits us to judge
Where some of 'em is and the rest of 'em was."
Not everyone bought this. It threatened to wreck
The comforting linkage of cause and effect.
E'en Einstein had doubts, and so Schroedinger tried
To tell him what quantum mechanics implied.
Said Win to Al, "Brother, suppose we've a cat,
And inside a tube we have put that cat at--
Along with a solitaire deck and some Fritos,
A bottle of Night Train, a couple mosquitoes
(Or something else rhyming) and, oh, if you got 'em,
One vial prussic acid, one decaying ottom
Or atom--whatever--but when it emits,
A trigger device blasts the vial into bits
Which snuffs our poor kitty. The odds of this crime
Are 50 to 50 per hour each time.
The cylinder's sealed. The hour's passed away. Is
Our pussy still purring--or pushing up daisies?
Now, you'd say the cat either lives or it don't
But quantum mechanics is stubborn and won't.
Statistically speaking, the cat (goes the joke),
Is half a cat breathing and half a cat croaked.
To some this may seem a ridiculous split,
But quantum mechanics must answer, "Tough @#&!
We may not know much, but one thing's fo' sho':
There's things in the cosmos that we cannot know.
Shine light on electrons--you'll cause them to swerve.
The act of observing disturbs the observed--
Which ruins your test. But then if there's no testing
To see if a particle's moving or resting
Why try to conjecture? Pure useless endeavor!
We know probability--certainty, never.'
The effect of this notion? I very much fear
'Twill make doubtful all things that were formerly clear.
Till soon the cat doctors will say in reports,
"We've just flipped a coin and we've learned he's a corpse."'
So saith Herr Erwin. Quoth Albert, "You're nuts.
God doesn't play dice with the universe, putz.
I'll prove it!" he said, and the Lord knows he tried--
In vain--until fin'ly he more or less died.
Win spoke at the funeral: "Listen, dear friends,
Sweet Al was my buddy. I must make amends.
Though he doubted my theory, I'll say of this saint:
Ten-to-one he's in heaven--but five bucks says he ain't."

(thanks unca cecil)

So the question isn't whether the cat's IN the fucking box, but whether it's alive or dead.

[HAULN-SS]

for friday:

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=71052">http://www.gametrailers.com/umwatcher.php?id=71052</a><!-- m -->

[JackoliciousLegs]

as long as we're being random <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX_-SoeKPOo">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RX_-SoeKPOo</a><!-- m -->

edit: and why not?

[WRXtranceformed]

[John]

This one is available for photochop...

[Goodspeed]

Thats the Firefox logo (found on the intarnets)

[BLINGMW]

:lol: good catch

[HAULN-SS]

For monday!

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2007/06/how_to_make_a_laser_more.html?CMP=OTC-0D6B48984890">http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/20 ... 6B48984890</a><!-- m -->

[mrbaggio]

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/9505/">http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/9505/</a><!-- m -->

[Maengelito]

its friday, i demand more cats!

[Hunter]

http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts/generic/9505/

I think they deserve a high five for that t shirt, however the rest of you deserve no high fives until you bring the humor. OBEY THE MAENG!