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Pessimism in a Quantum Universe (100 Words)
"Are you pessimistic?" I asked the physicist.
"In what way?" he replied.
"For you, is the glass half full or half empty?" I inquired.
"That depends on scale," the physicist answered. "On a quantum level, the glass simply has a fifty-fifty probability of fullness or emptiness. On a macroscopic scale, it’s impossible to accurately determine the capacity volumetrically until we can properly describe its shape."
"What about the middle range?" I persisted.
The physicist smiled. "I'd rather think of the universe as half empty," he said. "It's more interesting to ask where the water went than where it came from."
"In what way?" he replied.
"For you, is the glass half full or half empty?" I inquired.
"That depends on scale," the physicist answered. "On a quantum level, the glass simply has a fifty-fifty probability of fullness or emptiness. On a macroscopic scale, it’s impossible to accurately determine the capacity volumetrically until we can properly describe its shape."
"What about the middle range?" I persisted.
The physicist smiled. "I'd rather think of the universe as half empty," he said. "It's more interesting to ask where the water went than where it came from."