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96 points

I think the meme is just poking fun at the physics behind the whole thing, but in case anyone doesn’t know:

It’s called the observer effect, and it happens because:

This is often the result of utilizing instruments that, by necessity, alter the state of what they measure in some manner.

And particularly in the double-slit experiment:

Physicists have found that observation of quantum phenomena by a detector or an instrument can change the measured results of this experiment.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Observer_effect_(physics)

So for anyone who wants to have a surface understanding of the observer effect, the wiki does a fair job of the basic explanation.

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12 points

Yep, the observer it is not only observing, it is interacting in order to measure.

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-52 points

The meme is not about the observer effect or wavefunction collapse

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18 points

Super curious, and promise not to argue. What, in your summation, is the meme about?

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-17 points

This meme is about the difference in scales. When your electron’s delocalization is much greater than other scales in your system, the electron behaves like a wave. Otherwise if the electron’s delocalization is the smallest scale, it behaves like a particle.

If you can look at the setup of an experiment with your bare eyes, the electron behaves like a particle. If you cannot - it may behave like a wave.

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8 points

Petulant electrons, I guess.

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23 points

Yeah it is. From that wiki article:

A notable example of the observer effect occurs in quantum mechanics, as demonstrated by the double-slit experiment"

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-31 points

The meme is not about the double slit experiment

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