NotGraphs Science Experiment: Schrödinger’s Big Cat
Andres Galarraga is definitely inside this box.
Inside of this box has recently been placed a flask of poison, a bit of radioactive material, a Geiger counter, and — largely against his will, it should be said — former Colorado and Montreal first baseman Andres Galarraga (known commonly during his career as The Big Cat). The equipment has been arranged such that, should the Geiger counter detect the decay of even one atom over the next hour, it will release a hammer and shatter the flask of poison, thus killing Andres Galarraga. The likelihood of such a contingency is about 50%.
Questions:
1. An hour from now, when the box is opened, will Andres Galarraga be alive or dead?
2. If Andres Galarraga is alive, how angry will he probably be?
Carson Cistulli has published a book of aphorisms called Spirited Ejaculations of a New Enthusiast.
Isn’t the point of this to understand what state Andres Galarraga is in right now?
I don’t think he would be angry at all, it might be a great experience to hang in that balance where you are both dead and alive. He might in fact come out with knowledge that none of us have.
According to Wikipedia, Galarraga’s current state is Florida.
His current state is definitely angry. And zombie (somewhere between dead and alive).
Uh… what? Zombies are pretty definitively defined as being dead. Possibly the thing you seek is a vegetative state, since the state of whether the subject is “alive” or “dead” is still vastly in question and subjective.
Counterpoint: Zombies are “undead.” Please advise if this changes the calculus, because I am not an expert on such things.