Schrödinger’s Cat
by carolynholm
Dear Mommy,
I’m worried about boxes now.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
And this is because…?
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
There’s a crazy scientist who is trying to kill a cat in a box.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
You’ve been cruising the internet again, haven’t you.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
His name is Schrödinger and he put a cat in a box to kill it.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
No, that was a thought experiment. And it was a long time ago.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
Thought? A cat is a cat, and poison is poison. Stuffing a box with a cat and a vial of poison isn’t thoughtful.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
Theoretically there’s a cat in a box.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
And the scientist says it’s both dead and alive. That’s just crazy. It’s impossible to be both dead and alive.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
Well, you’re right. That was what Schrödinger was trying to demonstrate. He was trying to make a point about a scientific principle called Quantum Theory.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
Well he didn’t have to poison a cat.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
Sweetie, he didn’t poison a cat. It was a thought experiment. He was creating a metaphor to demonstrate how ludicrous a certain interpretation of quantum mechanics was.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
I’m going to stay out of boxes for a while. Just to be on the safe side.
Love, Mia
Dear Mia,
That’s a Kate Spade box you have there. I don’t think anyone would call it ominous.
Love, Carolyn
Dear Mommy,
Just saying.
Love, Mia
