Let's have a Schrödinger Christmas!

Okay, who thinks just by reading the title that I'm talking about the strong silent piano player that the psychologist from Peanuts was in love with?  Of course he's a great artist and he brings any party or holiday alive when he tickles those ivory keys.  However, No.  You're wrong, that guy is named Schroeder.  I'm not talking about him.

I wish I was talking about him, because his name doesn't have an umlaut.  Although the two dot thingy over the "O" has an amazing history (if you're into that sort of thing) I don't like having to type it.  I'm NOT into that sort of thing.

So, I am talking about Schrödinger. He was an Austrian Physicist (aren't they all) who devised a "Thought Experiment" to point out a problem he had discovered with some other Physicists theory in Quantum Mechanics (obviously NOT Austrians).

All technical mumbo jumbo aside, the thought experiment known as "Schrödinger's Cat" (they weren't overly creative in nicknames for experiments back in 1935) breaks down to putting a cat in a box with stuff that can kill it.  Having no idea when the cat will die and every understanding that the cat will die, we are left to assume that the cat is entangled in a state of being dead an alive at the same time.

This is a depressing concept.  I feel It is a way to annoy people at parties (not fun parties) and try to impress someone at some point.  Knowing this serves no great purpose to me other than to point out how little love there is for cats out there and that dog's are cuter.

And this is why Pavlov was a lot more fun to have at parties!

So, right now you're probably thinking to yourself, "okay, but what does this Schrödinger guy have to do with Christmas other than the joys of just being able to pronounce his name, umlaut and all, may bring?"

To that I might reply something like "good question, but umlauts bring NO JOY!"

So I ask you, what happens to us as we grow up?  Why must we have what we want and not be able to accept just the thought behind what we have received?

Have you ever given a kid a cardboard box with a gift in it?  Half the time these kids are all about that box!  They are excited to see the present and they'll get around to it in a bit, but, "Hot Damn!!! A BOX!!!!"  Eventually, I got the point with my own child that I would just bring home boxes from time to time.  She was THRILLED!!!

It's like being that guy at the party talking about Schrödinger's Cat (in the box).  Whether the cat is alive or not is a moot point.  The whole point of excitement is what might be in the box.  Again, this is the thrill we all feel when we are given a gift.. any gift!  We need to appreciate that more.  The thought is wonderful.  But to a kid, what's more exciting than a box?

Really, these days there's little left to the imagination with many toys.  They are made for one purpose and they are played with for that one thing.  But, A BOX!!!!  A box can be a boat, a fort, a house, a basket, a car, a train, an oven, a television, a box.... it goes on and on and on.  Amazingly enough, you can get a refrigerator box, open up both ends and roll down a hill or across your yard.  YOU'RE A HUMAN TANK!!!!

Oddly enough, I find I save cardboard boxes all the time.  I'm no hoarder, but whenever I get something in the mail, maybe from Amazon or some online vendor, I always save the box until they pile up and I have to throw them out.  I think this is some sort of attachment issue from my childhood.

Anyway, as kids start to grow up, they start to forget the box.  They want the loot.  And many of us maintain that sort of thinking well into adulthood.  Why? 

Is it the whole "I want what I want when I want it" mentality that we seem to be developing as a society?  An instant gratification type thing?

What if we try to start getting away from that and return to our basic need to be appreciated.  I really do believe that the gift is not as important as the thought.  Getting the box is more important than what is inside the box!  Does that make sense? 

As hokey as it sounds, I look at the child like appreciation I see when a kid gets "presents!!!" before they even open them.  It is an exciting concept and thrill to see their minds running wild with "look at all this stuff, what could it be!"  Until they open their gift, the thrill is in not knowing.  The younger they are, the more they appreciate the whatever... as they get older, the content becomes too important.

Right now it's the time of year where I'm hitting what I call "the birthday season" during which, for the next three months the majority of the people I know and love (including me) have their birthdays right before and around Christmas.  There's a lot of gift giving going on.  I want people to know I'm thinking of them and I truly wish I could give more, but I simply cannot.

I hope they appreciate me as much as I appreciate them. 

You know what though, I do have all of those spare boxes.. and, there are a lot of stray cats in my neighborhood.... hmmmm...