Schrodinger's (Demo) Cat

UPDATE: Kellipundit, one of the Homespun Bloggers, pointed me to this collection of Demo-cats' "…naively accepting as valid a 'blurred model' for…reality" over at Right Wing News.

"I cannot possibly put into words how disappointed, angry, and perplexed I am right now. The reported results coming out of Florida and Ohio simply make no sense to me. I cannot comprehend how we could have such a massive increase in turnout and not win the election." -- Skinner at DU

[Will not make snide comments about skinnin' cats in endless ways…]


AHM and me have been readin' a lot about some new buzz words flyin' around leftie circles. They're workin' overtime to figure out why they lost--which they can't--so they've decided to become the "reality-based community."

Now we canines really know about reality. We live in a minute-by-minute reality--if you can't see it, hear it, smell it, lick it, chew it, eat it, paw it, scratch it, poke your nose into it, or lift your leg against it, it ain't real.

Don't think that's the same reality Demo-cats are livin' in, though, at least not according to what this guy Eric Scheie writes.

"Slightly more than half of the citizens of this country simply do not care about what those of us in the "reality-based community" say or believe about anything." -- Eric Alterman

"The latest example of this phraseology ("REALITY BASED COMMUNITY") abounds in leftish circles of the blogosphere, and it involves the use of the word "reality" to denote opposition to Bush, opposition to the war in Iraq, and opposition to religious influences on policy making. The phrase "REALITY BASED COMMUNITY" appears on leading leftist blogs and [T-shirts] are apparently selling like hotcakes:

[…]

"The word "reality" is invoked in a way suggesting that those who use it have a monoply on truth, and it reminds me of the way the word "bright" was used (although the latter never quite got off the ground). It strikes me as a bit arrogant to suggest that anyone who supports the war is out of touch with reality, and the term almost seems designed to mock the "red state" people for simplemindedness.

"It's understandable that the "reality based community" is upset over the reelection of a man they consider hopelessly out of touch with reality -- by people they believe to be out of touch with reality."

Now all this reminded AHM of Schrodinger's Cat. (LG thought she meant the neighbor cat and was out the door barkin' her head off before we could stop her.) 'Course I made AHM show me this fe-lying (which, it turns out may or may not be real) and this is what she read to me:

"A cat is penned up in a steel chamber, along with…a Geiger counter [in which] there is a tiny bit of radioactive substance… [The substance is] so small that perhaps in the course of one hour one of the atoms decays [or], with equal probability, [no atoms decay]. [If an atom decays], the counter tube discharges and…releases a hammer which shatters a small flask of hydrocyanic acid."

And if the atom doesn't decay, neither does the fe-lyin'. So--is the silly fe-lyin' alive or dead? Who knows? Who cares? Ya' never saw me…can't prove it…wasn't my idea to stick the dumb fe-lyin' in a box full of radioactive particles 'til it kicks off.

Oh…yeah…I had a point here. Sorry. Got excited thinkin' of one less fe-lyin' in the world. Anyway, that story is how Schrodinger tried to explain quantum physics. (Have to look into that if it involves disposin' of fe-lyings.) He says it's how to transform stuff in the atomic domain (waaay too small to see) into somethin' that can "…be resolved by direct observation."

In other words, reality exists when ya' actually see it (or smell it or chew it or…well, you know), not by sittin' around debatin' over what it might be. Or: "That prevents us from so naively accepting as valid a "blurred model" for representing reality."

Okay, the way I got this figured, the lefties are staring at their "blurred model" of reality--the outside of the steel chamber--and inside the fe-lying may or may not be dead. Now they sure as hell don't intend to open the box to find out which is which 'cause they know real reality starts when you look at real evidence. And when they do that… Well, I don't know what, but I'd guess a few explodin' heads might be litterin' the landscape.

Besides, they're enjoyin' their hatefest so much they'll never admit the cat's already out of the bag.

Whew! I gotta' stop hangin' around that Mr. Peabody.

posted by Harrison at 1:35 AM