February 5, 2009
Schrödinger’s Baby
Some of you may know the story of Schrödinger’s Cat. From a quantum mechanics standpoint, it’s a story about indeterminacy. I.e. given a specific limited number of states under which we cannot know an outcome, the idea of whether the outcome really exists is not known — is the cat alive, dead, in both states, or neither? From a philosophical standpoint, it’s often used as a statement about the reliability of knowledge. I.e. from the standpoint of humanity, the cat is neither alive nor dead until the box is opened. (Note — I’m deliberately oversimplifying here).
But today, I apply it to a very specific issue…
On the table is an envelope. Inside the envelope is a business card. On the business card is written whether the baby my wife is carrying is a boy or a girl. We haven’t opened the envelope — and won’t for a few more days.
So what is the sex of Baby W? From our point of view, there is no knowledge. So for at least a few more days, this is Schrödinger’s Baby.
The Unrepentant Individual linked with It’s A Boy!
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I know this is going to sound really silly, but when I was pregeant with the girls, I had to shave my legs constantly….When I was pregeant with William, I could go a month without shaving…I think he needed all the male hormones that my body was producing……. So the question here is for Joanna, “are you shaving or not?”
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