Schrodinger's Cat: Obtaining Power Through Choice
Up until two hours ago, I really had no clue what today's topics would be based on. The usual routine consists of this during a Sunday Evening/Monday:
-Get up around Midnight after a 5 hour or so nap from working my First Job
-Shower, Eat, Prepare for Work at my Second Job.
-Get to work for 1:30 AM
-Proceed to work. Or at the very least...Pretend to work. (In case my boss reads this, I actually did do work..honest...)
-Wage war against my eyelids, which become heavier by the minute.
-Go home when game dies.
Today was a little different. Having the unexpected day off from Job #1, I got to sleep a little earlier in the afternoon. I awoke around 11:30 in the evening, and could not return to sleep. So I got ready, and in the last half our before taking the usual trip to work, I popped in a DVD from the first season of Big Bang Theory.
"But Logan, you told me you hated that show."
Alas, it's true. While I did find the show somewhat annoying at the beginning, I would like to try and be open-minded in my approach to things. Therefor, I have given the show until the end of the first season. While it is humorous at times, and surprisingly witty, it had yet to inspire me. Here we are, just a couple episodes from the end of the first season, when this scene happens. (If you haven't seen it, here's the fastest rundown ever. 4 nerds and a hot chick are main show stars. Main Nerd has crush on Hot Chick, who like most scenarios, keeps falling for bad boys and gets heart broken, while nerd hopelessly tries to get girl. Throw in other nerds with their own peculiar personalities, and some humor that the viewer doesn't understand due to the use of really big words, and you have a show.)
In this scene, we finally get to the point where Nerd #1 (Leonard) is on the couch talking to Hot Chick (Penny).
She starts going on with the usual "Where can I find a nice guy...yada yada..." and Leonard, in a very awkward and cheesy way, asks "what about me". Sure enough, the two of them begin to go out at the end of the series, which is good in a way, since it opens up room for comedy and it will be nice to finally have Leonard stop pining after Penny.
In the final episode of the season, which was the episode that I watched at 11:30 this evening, Penny is trying to make a choice between staying friends with Leonard, or risking her friendship and dating him. She resorts to asking Sheldon for help, and he brings up a theory that I haven't thought of since high school days.
Schrodinger's cat is an example of Superposition, which is pretty much useless unless you like to play around with Quantum Theories for fun. But I digress... Superposition (dumbed down) states that if we cannot see the state of something, it exists in all possible states so long as we do not confirm it. While this obviously can be argued, it is shown in the crude experiment of "Shrodinger's Cat." A cat is placed in a box along with a container of hydrocyanic acid. If an atom of the hydrocyanic acid decays, a device will break the container and thus, sadly, kill the cat. We cannot tell from the outside of the box whether or not the cat is alive or dead, so we would be forced to open the box in order to see. Since we cannot know the state of the cat at that moment, the cat is said to be in Superposition of states, existing in both possibilities. Unless it is observed, there is no outcome.
Stupid? Definitely.
Regardless, this can be tied into useful situations. How many of us have moments in our lives where we take neutrality and indecision, and allow those moments to remain untouched? Perhaps there is a cute someone in your biology class and you have yet to say hello. Or maybe you are deciding whether or not to venture out and get a new job. Whatever the case, this experiment has got me thinking about just how important it actually is.
As a human, I believe it is so important to not become a victim of circumstance. Life is a pitcher who loves to throw curveballs. In my leadership training that I've done in the past few years, I have learned the tools to change crisis into opportunity. While events occur in my life, it is not these events that shape me, it is how I react that shapes me. Therefor, I take responsibility for the path I've walked, knowing that I have the ability for walking a proper path in the future. I can see my choices clearer and I am not bound by the weight that others carry.
For example, when I was a younger boy, I had a small mole on my shoulder that was changing. While I'm not familiar with medical terminology, the mole had something called "Melanocytes", and skin cancer often grows in them. After a surgical procedure to remove the mole, I was informed they did not succeed in getting all of them. I went back for a second procedure, where they took a large chunk from my shoulder. I didn't know much about cancer at that time, other than the fact that it has a habit of taking people I care very much about.
I grew up thinking I was flawed, carrying the disease that would one day kill me. I was scared to talk about it, like I already had the cancer and it was waiting to surface. I made choices based on my views of the disease, and for some time feared it.
I now realize something. By allowing myself to fear this disease, I have unknowingly given it power. I have based my life in response to it, and have robbed myself of certain joys because of it (like skipping out on going to the beach because I didn't want to go out in the sun).
Bottom line, we choose to live the way we do. Rather than giving power to the things we believe control us, we instead should focus on creating the results we desire. If you yearn for contact with someone you lost it with years ago, reach out. If you are unsure as to whether or not you want to go back to school, ask yourself what it is you really want. Sitting on the fence serves No Purpose. By not acting, we are choosing that course of action. In the Big Bang Theory predicament, Penny must decide what she wants her relationship with Leonard to be. She must choose to look in the box.
I have been slowly working on my first novel series, and have serious commitment issues with finishing it. I feel that because it represents my own life, I am not ready to finish it. Yet in it's own way, that too is the same thing. I am not fulfilling anything by letting the ideas sit on the shelf. So my choice is to begin seriously writing it. If it flops due to inexperience, than I shall find the opportunity within that. I hate looking back and seeing that I haven't achieved anything after all this waiting.
So, regardless of who you are, look at the situations in your life that need addressing. The possibilities are all there, and they all await your decision. One thing is clear, by not choosing, you gain nothing more than you already have.
Until next week,
Logan
P.S. "Logan's Letter" has reached 200 views. Thank you to everyone who reads loyally, your support is highly appreciated. You can always become a member, or choose to send me a message on my facebook page if you wish. Thanks again!
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