#3134: Wavefunction Collapse

XKCD comic, described below.
Transcript

[Hairy is sitting behind a desk with one a hand on the desktop and the other in his lap. He is looking up at Cueball, who is standing in front of the desk. Hairy is asking a question:]

Hairy: If the wavefunction only collapses when I observe it, does that mean my consciousness affects the universe?

[Three panels follows showing three possible responses from Cueball. Each panel has a label above, written inside a small rectangle that is overlaid on the top left of each panel. Each panel shows the same zoom in on the top half of Cueball.]

[Panel 1]

Bad:

Cueball: Yes. Quantum entanglement proves that we all have souls.

[Panel 2]

Good:

Cueball: No. Consciousness plays no role here. Its just physical measurement.

[Panel 3]

Chaotic:

Cueball: No. The wave function collapses when I look at it because I'm a full professor.

Cueball: It won't collapse for an undergraduate.


(Sourced from explainxkcd.com)

Title text:Wavefunction collapse is only one interpretation. Under some interpretations, graduate students also have souls.


ExplainOriginal