September 22, 2018

Schrodinger's Cat Is Alive! (One-Twelfth of the Time)

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/09/schrodingers-cat-is-alive-one-twelfth-of-the-time/

Schrödinger’s Cat Is Alive! (One-Twelfth of the Time)

KEVIN DRUMSEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Bear with me for a second while I check to see if there’s any obvious outrageousness this morning that I need to comment on right away. [checks LAT, NYT, WSJ, WaPo] Nah, not really. So let’s talk science.

You all know about Schrödinger’s cat, poor thing, don’t you? The basic idea behind the experiment is that in the quantum world of particles we don’t know if a particle changes state until we observe it. Before that, it’s in an indeterminate state doing nothing in particular. So Erwin Schrödinger proposed that we put a cat in a box along with a particle that has a 50 percent chance of turning radioactive and killing the cat. Eventually we open the box and find out what happened.

But what about the cat before we open the box? It’s one thing to say that the particle is all smushed out and we don’t really know what state it’s in. But a cat? Come on. The cat is either dead or alive. But no: Schrödinger says that the cat too remains in a mysterious smeared out state, neither dead nor alive, until we open the box. At that point “the wave equation collapses” and the cat’s fate is determined.

That sounds weird, but whatever. Not as weird as plenty of other stuff in quantum mechanics. The thing is that no one really, truly believes quantum mechanics. Even physicists. Oh, they’ll do the math and produce answers accurate to ten decimal points. And the math always produces correct answers. But the answers are weird, so there’s long been a cottage industry in trying to “break” quantum mechanics to figure out what’s really going on below all the weirdness. These attempts are often very clever (physicists, right?) but they always fail.
...snip
Meh. Someone made a mistake. Eventually someone else will figure it out. It’s quantum mechanics. It will never make sense to us meat machines.

¹Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. Get it? Physicists are hilarious.

September 22, 2018

Physicist Kevin Drum questions if Schrdinger's Cat Is Alive!

https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2018/09/schrodingers-cat-is-alive-one-twelfth-of-the-time/

Schrödinger’s Cat Is Alive! (One-Twelfth of the Time)

KEVIN DRUMSEPTEMBER 21, 2018

Bear with me for a second while I check to see if there’s any obvious outrageousness this morning that I need to comment on right away. [checks LAT, NYT, WSJ, WaPo] Nah, not really. So let’s talk science.

You all know about Schrödinger’s cat, poor thing, don’t you? The basic idea behind the experiment is that in the quantum world of particles we don’t know if a particle changes state until we observe it. Before that, it’s in an indeterminate state doing nothing in particular. So Erwin Schrödinger proposed that we put a cat in a box along with a particle that has a 50 percent chance of turning radioactive and killing the cat. Eventually we open the box and find out what happened.

But what about the cat before we open the box? It’s one thing to say that the particle is all smushed out and we don’t really know what state it’s in. But a cat? Come on. The cat is either dead or alive. But no: Schrödinger says that the cat too remains in a mysterious smeared out state, neither dead nor alive, until we open the box. At that point “the wave equation collapses” and the cat’s fate is determined.

That sounds weird, but whatever. Not as weird as plenty of other stuff in quantum mechanics. The thing is that no one really, truly believes quantum mechanics. Even physicists. Oh, they’ll do the math and produce answers accurate to ten decimal points. And the math always produces correct answers. But the answers are weird, so there’s long been a cottage industry in trying to “break” quantum mechanics to figure out what’s really going on below all the weirdness. These attempts are often very clever (physicists, right?) but they always fail.
...snip
Meh. Someone made a mistake. Eventually someone else will figure it out. It’s quantum mechanics. It will never make sense to us meat machines.

¹Bob and Carol and Ted and Alice. Get it? Physicists are hilarious.

September 20, 2018

Phoenix New Times on Flake

The New Times is a liberal publication. Disclaimer: I am acquainted with past and present reporters. They were the only voice in the darkness opposing Sheriff Joe during his reign of terror.

I told Kirsten Gillibrand, long ago, she was far to conservative for me. Oh boy, was I ever wrong.

https://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/news/arizona-senator-jeff-flake-trump-kavanaugh-tweet-10844154

I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to do anything about it.
Two Tweets Reveal the Impotent Essence of Jeff Flake

STEVEN HSIEH | SEPTEMBER 19, 2018 | 2:36PM

Arizona Senator Jeff Flake, the anthropomorphized loaf of stale bread resigning after this term, made clear his disgust over an Instagram post from Donald Trump Jr. mocking Christine Blasey Ford, the California professor who accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when the two were in high school.
Trump's oldest son posted a fake "sexual assault letter found by Dems," written in crayon, that says, "Hi Cindy, Will you be my girlfriend?" The letter is signed, "Love, Brett."
…snip
Flake's denouncement is unsurprising. Just as unsurprising: His moral indignation only goes so far as doing exactly what the Republican establishment wants him to do.

A day before his criticism of Trump Jr., Flake tweeted that he wants to move rush a vote to confirm Kavanaugh.

September 5, 2018

Washington Post and YouTube Allow Death Threat Posted Comments Against Protesters

It was my intention to post a tribute for the brave people who protested against the confirmation of a Trump appointment to SCOTUS. There were no videos I could find that were free of hateful or violent threats to those who exercised their right to free speech.

The Republican attack dogs posted disgusting, misogynistic, and fascist remarks in the comments sections of all the videos I reviewed. Worse yet, this one from the Washington Post had many comments that encouraged violence and death for the protesters.

This is proof that YouTube is unable or unwilling to take action against abusers of their social media. The Washington Post did not post any attempt to counter or remove the comments calling for this violence. I will not give them more free advertising by listing the comments. It troubles me that posting the video will give YouTube viewer clicks they do not deserve.

I hope you will join me in sending both companies a message. Until both take action, they will be on my boycott list.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="

?rel=0" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

September 3, 2018

Democrats' Last Chance At Stopping Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

Deja vu, I remember the vote to appoint (my disappointment) Clarence Thomas. I keep a list of the Democrats who voted for him. If you are a Democratic Senator and you support, or vote, for Kavanaugh, tell US why. If you do not support his positions, don't crawl under the cover of an "election year" political coward's tale of betrayal.

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/brett-kavanaugh-hearing_us_5b8bf898e4b0511db3d9c14f

POLITICS 09/03/2018 08:00 am ET
Democrats’ Last Chance At Stopping Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh

It’s a long shot, but the stakes couldn’t be higher.
By Igor Bobic
…snip
With a growing group of presidential associates under criminal investigation and the fate of health care and abortion rights on the line for millions of Americans, the stakes could not be higher as his confirmation hearing begins on Tuesday.
…snip
Democrats said they plan to use this week’s confirmation hearing to highlight the jurist’s ethical dilemma should special counsel Robert Mueller, who is leading the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, decide to bring any charges that implicate Trump. To help them do so, they’ve invited former White House counsel John Dean, who helped take down former President Richard Nixon, to testify as an outside witness during the hearing.
…snip
Still, it’s clear Democrats face an extreme uphill climb in derailing Kavanaugh’s nomination. In addition to convincing key GOP senators like Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska to oppose the judge, they must win over trio of vulnerable moderate Democrats who are facing tough re-election fights in November: Joe Donnelly (Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (N.D.) and Joe Manchin (W.Va.). All three supported Gorsuch last year.

“If he does well at the hearing, I believe he’ll get 55 or higher,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) predicted on “Fox News Sunday” this weekend, referencing the minimum, 50 votes, that would be needed for Kavanaugh’s confirmation.

Republicans have reportedly been drilling Kavanaugh for weeks with “intense” mock hearings at the White House complete with staged protests. Graham and his GOP colleagues Rob Portman of Ohio and Dan Sullivan of Alaska have helped him practice and critique his performance.

“I think there are a handful of Democrats who will vote for Kavanaugh, maybe more,” the South Carolina Republican added in the Fox News interview.

September 2, 2018

Russia Announces Plans To Take Over American Politics Now That Their Enemy John McCain Is Gone

You can read the entire article on politizoom or the discussion link to Daily Kos at the bottom.

https://politizoom.com/2018/09/01/russia-announces-plans-to-take-over-american-politics-now-that-their-enemy-john-mccain-is-gone/

Russia Announces Plans To Take Over American Politics Now That Their Enemy John McCain Is Gone
By Ursula Faw -September 1, 2018

Abraham Lincoln famously said, “America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms it will be because we destroyed ourselves.” That sentiment was recently echoed by prominent Russian film director Karen Shakhnazarov on the Russian political opinion show 60 Minutes: “Global empires like the United States are destroyed from within…The U.S. is deteriorating. They won’t find other fighters like McCain. There won’t be any others like him. This process is irreversible.”

The Russians are elated to witness the demise of John McCain because they don’t see his successor anywhere in the Republican party. They’re happy as a pig in mud, and they’re not even hiding it. Daily Beast:

With glee, Russian political figures rejoiced over the passing of the late, great Sen. John McCain. Oleg Morozov, a member of the International Affairs Committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, wrote, “The enemy died.” Margarita Simonyan, editor in chief of RT [the Russian state’s international television network] admitted: “I am a lousy Christian… I can’t love my enemies. I can’t even have compassion for them. I can only will myself not to gloat.”

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/9/1/1792624/-Russia-Announces-Plans-For-Midterms-American-Politics-Now-That-Their-Enemy-John-McCain-Is-Gone