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Schrödinger's cat [This related source is recommended in its
entirety.] “Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment, usually
described as a paradox, devised by Austrian physicist Erwin
Schrödinger in 1935. It illustrates what he saw as the problem
of the Copenhagen interpretation of quantum mechanics applied to
everyday objects. The thought experiment presents a cat that
might be alive or dead, depending on an earlier random event.” —
Wikipedia, modified 22 April 2011 (wikipedia.org) Once upon a
time, in the 1930s, the Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger won
the Nobel Prize in Physics for his eponymous equation of quantum
mechanics. He needed a passport to attend the Nobel-Prize
Ceremony in Stockholm, Sweden. When he applied for his passport,
he was informed that his birth certificate was required as a
prerequisite for the documentation process, but, as he explained
to the authorities, he could not proffer it because it could
cause his cat's demise