Thought Experiment

What if you think the opposite or make assumptions about something? Exploring hypothetical situations and outcomes is an exercise that can expand your knowledge about something without needing physical experimentation. Schrödinger’s cat is a famous example of a thought experiment concerning quantum superposition.

A few questions like the following can get you on the path:

• What will happen if X occurs?
• What if Y happens instead of X?
• What if we replace A with B?

Thought experiments are great tools for helping you think outside the box. Often, a thought experiment helps uncover a paradox or an edge case.