Parshat Matot, NUmbers 30:2-32:42. מַּטּוֹת a.k.a. Mattoth or Mattos
A Girl in a State of Superposition
In my essay "Secrets of the Talking Ass," I discussed the phenomenon of Bein HaShmashot (twilight or dusk), which is neither day, nor night, nor both, nor neither, but rather a distinct state having its own unique status and laws associated with it. What is interesting about Bein HaShmashot from our point of view is that it has uncannily similar to the quantum-mechanical state of superposition. As we discussed in that essay, an electron can be in a state of superposition of having its spin up and down (with angular momentum directed counterclockwise and clockwise) or a photon in a state of superposition of horizontal and vertical polarization, or the Schrödinger cat in a state of superposition of being alive and being dead. Just as Bein HaShmashot the cat is neither dead, nor [...]