One of the paradoxes associated with the orthodox interpretation of quantum mechanics is the placement of the boundary between observer and observer, i.e., measurement and the collapse of the wave-function. Much has been written about this, including philosophical debate about the meaning of measurement, with extremists even invoking an anthropic principal — that we are necessary as intelligent observers. Using Schrödinger’s Cat as example, I attempt to show how such a boundary can be viewed as an artifice and made irrelevant. This comes about if nonlinear dynamics/chaos leads to uncertainty in describing/choosing quantum states. Such nonlinearities arise naturally from attempts to measure microscopic systems — or they might arise from other sources such as interaction of such systems with the quantum vacuum. In addition, if we consider statistically meaningful ensembles, there is no need for a single Schrödinger cat to be half-dead, half-alive — instead, there is a large ensemble of live and dead cats, and classical and quantum mechanics merge without the abrupt boundary. Schrödinger is free to choose a live cat.
William C. McHarris