The Sheep in the Crate vs. Schrödinger’s cat

( 圖片由Light-Year Transmission在mid-journey詠唱召喚）

( 圖片由Light-Year Transmission在mid-journey詠唱召喚）

薛丁格的貓

「靴的格的貓」是一個著名的哲學思想實驗，也被稱為「貓的格的靴」或「靴中之貓」（Schrödinger’s Cat），由奧地利物理學家厄溫·薩克羅丁格（Erwin Schrödinger）於1935年提出。

薛丁格的貓和《小王子》之間的聯繫在於它們都涉及到想像力、觀察和現實之間的關係，儘管它們來自不同的領域並探討不同的主題。

這個思想實驗旨在探討量子力學中的「超位置性」（superposition）和「量子糾結」（quantum entanglement）兩個重要概念。薩克羅丁格將一只貓放在一個密封的箱子中，箱子內有一個量子物理系統，例如一個放射性物質的樣本和一個裝置，當檢測到放射性衰變時，會釋放毒氣，導致貓的死亡。

根據量子力學的原理，在觀察前，貓被視為處於「超位置性」的狀態，即同時處於存活和死亡的狀態。只有當觀察者打開箱子，觀察貓的狀態時，才能確定貓是活著還是死亡，這種觀察的行為導致量子物理系統的「崩塌」，貓的狀態被確定下來。

這個思想實驗引起了許多哲學和科學界的討論，並具有深遠的哲學意義。它挑戰了我們對現實和觀察的理解，並提出了一些重要問題，如「觀察者的角色」和「主觀與客觀的關係」。

這個思想實驗揭示了量子力學中的一些概念，並引發了對物理學、認識論和科學哲學的思考。它提供了一個思考我們如何觀察和理解現實的框架，並引導我們思考量子世界與經驗世界之間的關係。

因此，「靴的格的貓」這個思想實驗在哲學上具有重要的地位，它挑戰了我們對真實世界本質的理解，並引導我們思考意識、觀察和科學方法的本質問題。

薛丁格的貓和《小王子》中小王子從箱子裡看見想像中理想的綿羊之間的聯繫在於想像力和現實之間的對比和衝突。薛丁格的貓思想實驗探討了量子物理學中的觀察問題，以及觀察者如何影響系統的狀態。在這個實驗中，觀察者的觀察行為影響到貓的生死狀態。

因此，薛丁格的貓和《小王子》中的想像中的綿羊都涉及到想像力、觀察和現實之間的關係。雖然它們的背景和探討的主題不同，但在這個意義上，可以說它們存在一種間接的關聯。

儘管薛丁格的貓和《小王子》在背景和主題上有所不同，但它們都提供了一種思考想像力、觀察和現實之間關係的框架。薛丁格的貓引發了對真實世界本質和觀察的哲學思考，而《小王子》則透過小王子的冒險故事探索了想像力和現實之間的對比和衝突。這兩個概念都在哲學和思考生活意義方面有重要的地位。

單字導讀

1. shipwreck 船難

這個字可以當名詞，也可以當動詞，

當名詞的用法，比如說：

Only a few sailor survived the shipwreck.. 

只有幾名水在船難生還。

當動詞時的用法，比如說：

I was more isolated than a man shipwrecked on a raft in the middle of the ocean.  

我比乘著木筏在海上船難的人更isolated，更加的孤獨隔絕。

2. manage (to try to achieve in one’s purpose)

Here is the best portrait I managed to make of him.

大家一搬比較熟悉的manage的意思是經營或是管理，但是manage也有設法，處理應付一件事情的意 思。Here is the best portrait I managed to make of him.  可以簡單地理解成，這是我為他畫的最好的一張畫像，portrait. 

3. apparition 幽靈 ，幻影

I stared wide-eyed at this apparition. 

我瞪大眼睛看著眼前的幻象。

4. inhabited 有人居住的 

inhabited  這個是從inhabit 這個動詞變來的，意思是棲息，居住。 

Before the arrival of white man, Australia was inhabited solely by Aborigines. 

在白人到達以前，澳大利雅僅有土著居住。

Don’t forget that I was I was a thousand miles from any inhabited territory. 

別忘記我黎有人居住的區域territory，隔了有幾千里遠。

5. overpower 

overpower 這個字有打敗，壓制，或是在情感上使人深深感動的意思。

The criminals were easily overpowered by the police.

那些犯人被警察輕易的制服了。

In the face of the overpowering mystery, you don’t dare disobey. 

在面對令人震懾的神秘事件時，你不敢不遵從眼前發生的事。

6. indulgent 溺愛的 寬容的

My friend gave me a kind and indulgent smile.

我的朋友給了我一個體貼又寬容的微笑 

The Little Prince: Chapter 2

SO I LIVED all alone, without anyone I could really talk to, until I had to make a crash landing in the Sahara Desert six years ago. Something in my plane’s engine had broken, and since I had neither a mechanic nor passengers in the plane with me, I was preparing to undertake the difficult repair job by myself. For me it was a matter of life or death: I had only enough drink- ing water for eight days.

The first night, then, I went to sleep on the sand a thousand miles from any inhabited country. I was more isolated than a man shipwrecked on a raft in the middle of the ocean. So you can imagine my surprise when I was awakened at daybreak by a funny little voice say- ing, “Please . . . draw me a sheep . . .”

“What?”

“Draw me a sheep . . .”

I leaped up as if I had been struck by lightning. I rubbed my eyes hard. I stared. And I saw an extraordinary little fellow staring back at me very seriously. Here is the best portrait I managed to make of him, later on. But of course my drawing is much less attractive than my model. This is not my fault. My career as a painter was discouraged at the age of six by the grown-ups, and I had never learned to draw anything except boa con- strictors, outside and inside.

So I stared wide-eyed at this apparition. Don’t forget that I was a thousand miles from any inhabited ter- ritory. Yet this little fellow seemed to be neither lost nor dying of exhaustion, hunger, or thirst; nor did he seem scared to death. There was nothing in his appear- ance that suggested a child lost in the middle of the desert a thousand miles from any inhabited territory. When I finally managed to speak, I asked him, “But . . . what are you doing here?”

And then he repeated, very slowly and very seri- ously, “Please . . . draw me a sheep . . .”

In the face of an overpowering mystery, you don’t dare disobey. Absurd as it seemed, a thousand miles from all inhabited regions and in danger of death, I took a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket. But then I remembered that I had mostly studied geography, his- tory, arithmetic, and grammar, and I told the little fel- low (rather crossly) that I didn’t know how to draw.

He replied, “That doesn’t matter. Draw me a sheep.” Since I had never drawn a sheep, I made him one of the only two drawings I knew how to make—the one of the boa constrictor from outside. And I was astounded to hear the little fellow answer: “No! No! I don’t want an elephant inside a boa constrictor. A boa con- strictor is very dangerous, and an elephant would get in the way. Where I live, everything is very small. I need a sheep. Draw me a sheep.”
So then I made a drawing.
He looked at it carefully, and then said, “No. This one is already quite sick. Make another.”

I made another drawing. My friend gave me a kind, indulgent smile:

“You can see for yourself . . . that’s not a sheep, it’s a ram. It has horns . . .”

So I made my third drawing, but it was rejected, like the others:

“This one’s too old. I want a sheep that will live a long time.”

So then, impatiently, since I was in a hurry to start work on my engine, I scribbled this drawing, and added, “This

is just the crate. The sheep you want is inside.”
But I was amazed to see my young critic’s face light

up. “That’s just the kind I wanted! Do you think this sheep will need a lot of grass?”

“Why?”

“Because where I live, everything is very small . . .”

“There’s sure to be enough. I’ve given you a very small sheep.”

He bent over the drawing. “Not so small as all that . . . Look! He’s gone to sleep . . .”

And that’s how I made the acquaintance of the little prince.

Listening Quiz

1: How did the little prince appear when he first encountered the pilot?

A. He appeared hungry and thirsty.

B. He seemed frightened to death.

C. He appeared as a beautiful boy.

2: What was the first drawing the pilot made for the little prince?

A. A sheep eating grass.

B. A boa constrictor digesting an elephant.

C. A planet floating in space.  

3: Why was the pilot astounded by the little prince’s reaction to the first drawing?

A. The little prince appeared unexpectedly.

B. The little prince fully understood what was depicted in the drawing of the hat.

C. The little prince made a peculiar request.

4: What made the little prince’s face light up at the end?

A. A ram with horns.

B. A very cute bunny.

C. A crate containing a sheep.

( 圖片由Light-Year Transmission在mid-journey詠唱召喚）

“The eternal mystery of the world is its comprehensibility …

The fact that it is comprehensible is a miracle.” – Albert Einstein

“世界永恒的奥秘在于它的可理解性…他是可以理解的這件事本身就是一個奇蹟。” – 愛因斯坦