Difference between revisions of "Schrödinger's category"
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Kevin Wang (talk | contribs) (Created page with "<onlyinclude>A question that is ambiguously in one of two or more different categories is said to be in '''Schrödinger's category'''; this situation can arise during eith...") |
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Examples: | Examples: | ||
| − | *a biochemistry question may be put in either [[biology]] or [[chemistry]]; similarly an astrophysics may be in either [[physics]] or [[astronomy]] | + | *a biochemistry question may be put in either [[biology]] or [[chemistry]]; similarly an astrophysics question may be in either [[physics]] or [[astronomy]] |
*cross-cutting topics like [[science history]] may be put in the [[other academic]] section or in any of the categories it draws clues from | *cross-cutting topics like [[science history]] may be put in the [[other academic]] section or in any of the categories it draws clues from | ||
Revision as of 19:53, 5 March 2025
A question that is ambiguously in one of two or more different categories is said to be in Schrödinger's category; this situation can arise during either gameplay or submitting questions.
Examples:
- a biochemistry question may be put in either biology or chemistry; similarly an astrophysics question may be in either physics or astronomy
- cross-cutting topics like science history may be put in the other academic section or in any of the categories it draws clues from
The cat
Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics that compares the superposition of a wavefunction to a cat being simultaneously alive and dead until it is observed, at which point its state "collapses" to one or the other. By analogy, the true category of a question in Schrödinger's category can only be determined once enough other questions have been observed to "collapse" it into one of its possible states using the known constraints of the distribution.