A thought experiment is an imaginary scenario that is meant to elucidate or test an argument or theory. It is often an experiment that would be hard,...

A hallmark of Albert Einstein's career was his use of visualized thought experiments (German: Gedankenexperiment) as a fundamental tool for understanding...

Blockhead is a theoretical computer system invented as part of a thought experiment by philosopher Ned Block, which appeared in a paper titled "Psychologism...

In thought experiments, philosophers and scientists occasionally imagine entities with special abilities as a way to pose thought experiment or highlight...

Twin Earth is a thought experiment proposed by philosopher Hilary Putnam in his papers "Meaning and Reference" (1973) and "The Meaning of 'Meaning'" (1975)...

tries to assess what would be the case if things had been different. Thought experiments often employ counterfactual thinking in order to illustrate theories...

called it a "thought experiment" which presupposes some changes to the world, and probes their consequences. The purpose of the thought experiment is not to...

The trolley problem is a series of thought experiments in ethics, psychology, and artificial intelligence involving stylized ethical dilemmas of whether...

the uncertainty principle could be violated, suggesting ingenious thought experiments which should permit the accurate determination of incompatible variables...

thinking through the implications of this single experiment. He also proposed (as a thought experiment) that if detectors were placed before each slit...

Roko's basilisk is a thought experiment which states there could be an otherwise benevolent artificial superintelligence (AI) in the future that would...

conceptual analysis, reliance on common sense and intuitions, use of thought experiments, analysis of ordinary language, description of experience, and critical...

quantum mechanics, Schrödinger's cat is a thought experiment concerning quantum superposition. In the thought experiment, a hypothetical cat in a closed box...

Quantum suicide is a thought experiment in quantum mechanics and the philosophy of physics. Purportedly, it can falsify any interpretation of quantum mechanics...

and all the students," most historians consider it to have been a thought experiment rather than a physical test. The 6th-century Byzantine Greek philosopher...

philosophers began to look at anarchy in terms of the "state of nature", a thought experiment used to justify various forms of hierarchical government. By the late...

Maxwell's demon is a thought experiment that appears to disprove the second law of thermodynamics. It was proposed by the physicist James Clerk Maxwell...

The Einstein–Podolsky–Rosen (EPR) paradox is a thought experiment proposed by physicists Albert Einstein, Boris Podolsky and Nathan Rosen, which argues...

from physicists' own thought experiments and often shed light upon certain aspects of physics. So, for example, the thought experiment of a Brownian ratchet...

Newton's cannonball was a thought experiment Isaac Newton used to hypothesize that the force of gravity was universal, and it was the key force for planetary...

centerpiece of Searle's argument is a thought experiment known as the Chinese room. In the thought experiment, Searle imagines a person who does not...

100 men versus a gorilla is a thought experiment concerning the winner of a hypothetical battle between one-hundred unarmed male humans and a silverback...

of localization of function is the radio repairman thought experiment. In this thought experiment, a radio repairman opens up a radio and rips out a tube...

notable experiments in physics. The list includes only experiments with Wikipedia articles. For hypothetical experiments, see thought experiment. Bell tests...

philosophy, the brain in a vat (BIV) is a scenario used in a variety of thought experiments intended to draw out certain features of human conceptions of knowledge...

In physics, Mermin's device or Mermin's machine is a thought experiment intended to illustrate the non-classical features of nature without making a direct...

information, the Hayden–Preskill thought experiment (also known as the Hayden–Preskill protocol) is a thought experiment that investigates the black hole...

are dependent on the physical world. In his thought experiment he attempted to demonstrate that all thoughts and beliefs have wide contents. In “The Meaning...

The Boltzmann brain thought experiment suggests that it might be more likely for a brain to spontaneously form, complete with a memory of having existed...

of physics are the same in all frames of reference. He provides a thought experiment of two co-ordinate systems, K and K′, moving uniformly to one another:...