Steve Jobs, Ursula Le Guin, and Schrodinger's Cat

I just made a discovery that has left me shaking my head in astonishment.

A week or so ago there was a thread on Facebook that began with a presentation of what were purported to be Steve Jobs’ final words.  Those words were advice of the kind we hear in mid-June in graduation speeches.  He said he’d been caught up in the pursuit of wealth and success, and only later realized that love, family, and spiritual values were more important.  Touching but conventional thoughts.

In the thread that followed, people pointed out what, according to his family, were Jobs’ actual final words:

“Oh, wow.  Oh, wow.  Oh, wow.”

So a few days ago I read a short story by Ursula Le Guin titled “Those Who Walk Away from Omelas.”  It is a brilliant, eight-page story that everyone should read and think about.  Reminded what a brilliant writer she is, I picked up a collection of  her short stories and began reading.  I came to a story titled “Schrodinger’s Cat.”

Since no dufuses or uneducated lowlifes are likely to be reading this blog, I will assume some familiarity with the concept of Schrodinger’s Cat:  the box, the pistol that may or may not fire depending on the random action of a photon, and the quantum possibility that the cat is either dead or alive or both.

So let me quote a short passage near the end of the story:

            “The cat is in the box,” I said.

            “The cat is in the box,” Rover repeated in a whisper, falling to his knees.  “Oh, wow.  Oh, wow.  Oh, wow.”

            There was silence then; deep silence.

We know Jobs was a brilliant guy who was surely meditating on his imminent passing.  Did he ask himself what death was in quantum physics terms?  Had he read and been moved by LeGuin’s story, and did he recall it at the end? 

I wouldn’t mind making a profound literary reference as my final words.  This one will be hard to match.