Schrödinger's Cat - brief summary of the theory

Schrödinger's Cat theory is at first sight a strange theory to consider in Visual Culture; Schrödinger's aim was to debunk the a theory put forward by the Copenhagen school of quantum mechanics, which states that a particle exists in all states at once until it is actually observed. 

Schrödinger proposed the following scenario: suppose a cat is locked in a box with a radioactive sample, a Geiger counter and a bottle of cyanide. If the Geiger Counter detects radiation it will smash the bottle, killing the cat. The Copenhagen interpretation would be that the radioactive sample may simultaneously have decayed and not decayed, so that cat can be both dead and alive. This is clearly absurd: the cat must be in one state or the other, irrespective of the observation. 

The relevance for visual culture is that there can be two realities: the observer is common to both, but in one the cat is alive, in the other dead.

The concept of dual reality is used in sci-fi media frequently. We saw it in the 'desert of reality' as set out by Morpheus in The Matrix. Neo's previous world is just a 'neural interactive simulation. In Dr. Who, dual worlds often feature in story lines. In Amy's Choice,  Amy is left questioning what is real. Is she at home with husband Rory or travelling in TARDIS with the Doctor and Rory. Amy is left to choose which is real and which is fake. One buff explains the tendency of Carla to where red and blue dresses is parallel time lines.