Finished Paper...?

PHYS 491, or Quantum Mechanics is an upper level course taken by all physics majors here at ACU (and even some crazy Math majors...). As per University requirements, each degree plan has to have a "writing intensive course" where the students have to write a 750-1000 word paper taking a persuasive or analytical stance on a currently debated issue in the subject. Unfortunately for us all currently debated issues in QM are so far over our heads at this point that to express any of the ideas in a non-technical paper would be impossible. So we're cheating a little bit and just finding some topic in QM that would be interesting to write about. My topic is Quantum Computers.

For a brief foray into the realm of Quantum Mechanics, let's consider an example. Let's say that my paper can be in one of two states, completed or not started. Classically speaking (as opposed to Quantum-ly) the paper must exist in one state or the other. However, in QM it exists in both states at the same time. There is a certain probability that it is completed and a certain probability that it is unfinished represented by some probability distribution function. It's not until you "probe" the particle (in this case, my paper) that the wave function "collapses" into a certain state.

So as I sit here in total procrastination mode, I find myself justifying the avoidance of my paper based on the fact that it is already finished. Never mind the probability of that particular state being the one that I will find when I actually go and open the document happens to be extremely low...