Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria:
- Originality: How original is this - never seen before?
- Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique?
- Details: Express how much you like the details of the build.
Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name.
FOR WHEN YOU NEED A SIGN FROM THE UNIVERSE
This cat exists in a superposition of states inside a box so you can answer the eternal questions, such as:
Whose turn is it to take out the garbage?
WHAT IT IS
This is an idea for a new LEGO set that plays on the concept of Schrödinger's Cat, a thought experiment in quantum mechanics.
You can help make this set a reality simply by poking the Support button. It’s free and only takes a few clicks.
WHAT IT DOES
It lets you instantly get an answer to any question (as long as it's yes or no).
Turns out, that doesn't take someone who knows how to spell Shroedingher.
All you need to do is ask the cat.
HOW IT WORKS
- Ask your question.
- Grab the red handle on top of the box, and spin.
- Get the red dots aligned.
- Open the door.
- If the cat is awake, it’s a yes to your question. And asleep means no.
Note: This is a basic working version of the idea. It uses a spinning mechanism with manual controls, and two cat models (one for each state) on a turntable. If you vote for this idea, LEGO will come in with their in-house designers and look at the ways to improve the set. For example, incorporate an automated randomizing mechanism you could trigger by simply opening the door, without all that "aligning the dots" nonsense.
BACKGROUND
The thought experiment goes like this:
According to quantum mechanics, particles exist in multiple states simultaneously until we observe them. Which means, until we open the box, the cat is in a “superposition” of states, both asleep and awake.
The act of observation (or measurement) "collapses" the superposition into one definite state. In this case, opening the box determines whether the cat is awake or asleep.
The Many-Worlds Interpretation of quantum mechanics, however, states that the moment of observation doesn’t collapse anything: it’s just that the universe branches off into two entirely real futures but this version of ourselves (and the cat) can experience only one.
WHY YOU ABSOLUTELY NEED THIS
Decision Making Simplified
Why go to the effort of flipping a coin when you can easily make daily decisions by leveraging quantum mechanics?
Whenever you’re unsure about your next course of action, whenever you need an answer, a sign from the universe, the solution is obvious.
Ask the cat.
And, for once, the universe will actually respond.
It’s a Perfect Gift (Or Not)
Got a cat lover for a friend? A Marvel aficionado for a granny? Or just a Nobel Prize in Physics laureate for a workout buddy? It’s a 50/50 chance they would love this. Just ask the cat.
Go Down the Quantum Rabbit Hole
In a world where every great idea seems to have been discovered already, where every answer is there in a cloud, where you can’t even get lost unless you throw away your phone (which you won’t), physics and cosmology hold the final mysteries still left to unravel.
Get this piece on your desk, and soon you’ll notice strange things happening. First, you google the cat and spend a few hours on Wikipedia.
You start asking yourself the questions.
Is free will a thing or is everything determined? Are parallel universes not just an Avengers plot device? What about time travel then?
A few weeks later, you've discovered your best cure for insomnia yet: science podcasts. Your quality of life is much improved, and everyone is left wondering. (But never you: you always know whom to ask.)
A Conversation Starter
What’s that mysterious box on your desk? Oh, Schroedinger’s cat? Quantum mechanics? Huh. Didn't know you were into that.
Then you impress them with the knowledge you’ve gathered down that rabbit hole and, before you know it, get into a conversation about something that matters. Like the latest TV show you’ve both just watched.
YOUR QUESTIONS (FOR NOW) ANSWERED
What does “supporting” the idea entail?
You click the Support button on this page, sign in with Google (or Facebook/Apple ID/etc.), and that’s basically it. You’ve helped bring this cat into existence.
Will the actual real set look exactly like this?
If you support this idea, LEGO will come in with their in-house designers and look at the ways to improve the set.
The final model could flesh out the concept in various ways:
- An automated randomizing mechanism connected to the turntable, which you can trigger by simply opening the door - no need for that “aligning the dots” nonsense.
- Better-looking cats.
- Fleshed-out settings for the cats, e.g.: day vs night.
Make sure to comment on what you'd like to see improved (or left as is).
If I support it, do I have to buy it?
No, all you need to do is make a few clicks. It's the thought that counts.
THIS CAT'S FUTURE DEPENDS ON YOU
Got questions? Suggestions for the set? Or just want different colors? Use the comments section to share your take.
Remember, if you get at least one friend to vote, and they do the same with their friend, and that friend also does, and so forth, then pretty soon we’ll have 8 billion people supporting the idea.
And we don’t even need that many.
#askthecat
Help your fellow builder by leaving your feedback based on these three criteria:
- Originality: How original is this - never seen before?
- Building Techniques: How much skill do you think the creator of this MOC has, in terms of building technique?
- Details: Express how much you like the details of the build.
Your feedback is only shown to the creator as well as yourself. It is not available for other users to see. The creator won't see your user name.