http://everything2.com/?node=New%20Writeups%20Atom%20Feed&foruser=kilroy_tex 2004-04-20T07:47:26Z http://everything2.com/user/kilroy_tex/writeups/The+Heisenberg+Uncertainty+Priniciple+in+real+lifekilroy_texhttp://everything2.com/user/kilroy_tex2004-04-20T07:47:26Z2004-04-20T07:47:26Z This situation seems to be more along the lines of a <a href="/title/Schr%25C3%25B6dinger%2527s+Cat">Schrödinger's Cat</a> problem; the <a href="/title/Heisenberg+Uncertainty+Priniciple">Heisenberg Uncertainty Priniciple</a> states that as your measurements of <a href="/title/momentum">momentum</a> of an object become more and more accurate, your idea of the object's position becomes less so. Evidently the explanation for it is something about <a href="/title/wave%252Fparticle+duality">wave/particle duality</a> or something like that. Unless you're talking about the velocity of your <a href="/title/dog">dog</a>, this doesn't seem to be the right theory here.<br><br> Anyway, the dog wagging its tail is pretty much the same thing as the <a href="/title/Schr%25C3%25B6dinger%2527s+Cat">Schrödinger's Cat</a> problem. Strangely enough, so is the question "<a href="/title/If+a+tree+falls+in+a+forest%252C+and+nobody%2527s+around%252C+does+it+make+a+sound%253F">If a tree falls in a forest, and nobody's around, does it make a sound?</a>" <br><br> The setup runs thusly:<br><br> You put a <a href="/title/cat">cat</a> in a box, and you have some <a href="/title/radioactive">radioactive</a> material in there. If it decays, a <a href="/title/Geiger+counter">Geiger counter</a> detects it and smashes a bottle of poison. If you look at the box from the outside, there is no way of knowing whether the material has decayed or not, and therefore whether&hellip;