Verschränkung is said to be a word coined by Erwin Schrödinger. Entanglement is the approximation of the word in English. I learned this after Schrödinger’s Cat popped up as a character in several recent Dilbert cartoon strips.

Krzysztof Byczuk did a well organized presentation and said this about the concept;

-Entanglement is a quantum correlation in quantum many body
system
-Entanglement does not depend on particular physical representation
-Entanglement is a resource like energy
-Entanglement can be quantified and measured

His 2005 presentation, available here;

Verschränkung

– – goes on to point out that the correlations provided by measurements do not constitute superluminal transfer of information or energy, His one sentence summary of the Bell theorem is, “Nature itself is fundamentally non-local, expressed in a subtle correlation between two lists of otherwise random data.”

Schrödinger’s 1935 thought problem involving a cat in an undefined state before measurement is said to be the origin of the word verschränkun. It is certainly possible to suggest that many of the problems we have in understanding the world are the result of the vocabulary and grammar we use as tools as we try to describe it. “We shape our tools and then they ape us” is the first variation on the McLuhan description of the process. The other relevant quote I came across when Googling about on this topic is from Yoko Ono, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”

And to think all of this text sprung from two recent Dilbert cartoon strips. The boundary between physics and metaphysics gets smaller all the time.

There is a difference between a shaky or out-of-focus photograph and a snapshot of clouds and fog banks. —Erwin Schrödinger

I was treated to a reiteration of the problems posed by Erwin Schrödinger’s 1935 thought problem in a couple of recent Dilbert strips.

I was treated to this image of the Buddha last year in Colombo’s (Sri Lanka) National Museum when I unpacked my camera, air conditioned overnight, in a humid environment. The condensation on the lens was something I had not anticipated after the previous fifteen months of life in desert-like dryness.

Today was a day to ponder whether such things are merely fortuitous or are the result of some conscious intent of the universe or maybe the result of past actions.

Saturday (8 June) was Scott Adams’ birthday.

“Even a man who’s pure of heart and says his prayers by night, will become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms, and and the autumn moon is bright.”

Maria Ouspenskaya said that eight years before her death in the 1941 film The Wolf Man. You might ask why this is important. I don’t know either but it is one of those things that get stuck in one’s head and are prone to wind up on a blog.

In addition to a minor correction to my recollection of the famous line (I recalled it as “and the moon is full and bright”) the Wiki entry for Ms. Ouspenskaya offered the line said to the dying Wolf Man (played by Lon Chaney.)

“The way you walked was thorny, though no fault of your own, but as the rain enters the soil, the river enters the sea, so tears run to a predestined end. Now you will have peace for eternity.”

Who writes screenplays with that sort of language anymore?

A few things to think about on this day of the full moon and the weekend of Memorial Day 2013.

The night of the full moon in this month marks the occasion of Waisak. (For these notes I am using the Indonesian spelling and date.) For seven years in Indonesia I was able to look forward to Waisak as a national holiday. But I never knew about the lanterns!

Waisak Day commemorates the birth, enlightenment, and passing of the Buddha. Tri suci in Indonesian – three holy or sacred events considered to be of primary significance to all Buddhist lineages. I managed to visit the Borobudur temple while living in Indonesia in the ’90s. But I never knew about the lanterns!

In high school we used to construct something similar from dry cleaning bags we had collected. Weight was critical. The best heat source we could devise were candles constructed from soda straws and melted paraffin. Straight pins would fix the homemade candles to the thin balsa strips at the opening of the bag. Anything else was just too heavy. The standard birthday candles, though about the right size, did not produce enough heat. Likewise, any other plastic bags were just too heavy for our version of a floating lantern.

I was very impressed when I recently discovered these pictures of the Waisak celebration at Borobudur. These lanterns are magnificent. I don’t know how long the lanterns have been a part of the celebration. Given 2500 years I am sure we could have gone beyond the stage of dry cleaning bags. This image shows just how far the concept can be developed.

Even more amazing is the sight of dozens of these floating lanterns in the air at the same time.

Now consider the floating lanterns with the backdrop of the Borobudur temple complex.

Selamat Hari Waisak!

The first secular leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile was interviewed in the Atlantic Monthly.

The Accidental Prime Minister of Tibet

Lobsang Sangay, the prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile is asked, “It sounds like you were subject to Chinese phishing attempts via email attachments? Does that happen often?”

He replies, “Yes, all the time. They try to monitor me, destroy my computer, make my life difficult.

It’s where the Buddhist philosophy comes in—don’t have attachments!”

A big time for celebrity endorsements. Angelina Jolie has thrown her weight behind BRCA genetic testing and elective mastectomy. Mike Adams in his Natural News was quick to point out that the publicity surrounding Jolie’s surgery comes just ahead of a Supreme Court ruling on whether Myriad Genetics patent on the BRCA1 gene is valid. Meanwhile, Myriad Genetics stock is at a 52 week high. Any testing currently generates royalties for Myriad Genetics.

On the other side of the lens, the Coen brothers now have their name associated with Adobe Premiere. For the film crowd this is big. It signifies the arrival of Adobe in the market once dominated by Apple (Final Cut) and Avid. The Coen brothers endorsement came by way of mention in an NAB press release from Adobe. No word yet as to the effect on Adobe stock prices.

nofilmschool.com was the source of these notes on the Coen brothers’ use of Adobe products;

Coen Brothers Switching from Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere with Their Next Film

Again from nofilmschool.com comes this interview with Ethan and Joel Coen;

Spend an Hour with the Coen Brothers as They Explain the Opening Scenes of Their Films

Wikipedia talks about it this way, “RAS syndrome (short for “redundant acronym syndrome syndrome”), also known as PNS syndrome (“PIN number syndrome syndrome”, which expands to “personal identification number number syndrome syndrome”) or RAP phrases (“redundant acronym phrase phrases”), refers to the use of one or more of the words that make up an acronym or initialism in conjunction with the abbreviated form, thus in effect repeating one or more words.”

The most common encounter with this syndrome in my world is the reference to CAC card which expands to Common Access Card card. Firesign Theatre’s reference to a variant syndrome  not based on an acronym was, “Department of Redundancy Department.”

Another allied bit of semantic abuse is the use of the acronym without a preceding article. When is it that the CIA, the FCC, of the DoD become simply CIA, FCC, and DoD? Is it simply by sufficient use and familiarity?

WWSJHS? That is What Would Sydney J. Harris Say?

Perhaps, “The real danger is not that computers will begin to think like men, but that men will begin to think like computers.” To this we might add, ” or to lose the ability or inclination to think.”