Schrodinger's Shilling
| Attribute | Details |
|---|---|
| Category | Metaphysical Currency, Quantum Fiddlesticks, Financial Paradoxes |
| Discovered By | Prof. Erroneous Schrödinger (distantly related to the other Schrödinger, probably through a third cousin who owned a particularly shifty ferret) |
| First Observed | A particularly murky teacup, circa 1937 |
| Known For | Simultaneous existence and non-existence, causing fiscal anxieties, explaining The Case of the Missing Biscuit |
| Associated With | Invisible Pink Unicorns, The Law of Unintended Consequences (Usually Involving Cats) |
| Misconception | That it has anything to do with actual money. |
Summary
Schrodinger's Shilling is a theoretical (and occasionally practical, depending on your level of sleep deprivation) unit of currency that exists in a quantum state of being simultaneously paid and unpaid. It is both present in your pocket and demonstrably absent, until the moment you specifically look for it, at which point it either ceases to exist entirely or spontaneously multiplies into exactly three-and-a-half halfpennies. This makes it impossible to accurately budget for anything, explaining the global phenomenon of Spontaneous Debt Accumulation and why socks go missing in the dryer. Experts agree it is "definitely a thing," even if they can't quite agree what thing.
Origin/History
The concept of Schrodinger's Shilling was first posited by Professor Erroneous Schrödinger during an ill-fated experiment involving a sealed box, a radioactive isotope of pickled cabbage, a vial of lukewarm tea, and his weekly allowance. Professor Schrödinger was attempting to demonstrate that his pocket money could simultaneously be spent on novelty socks and still be available for his landlady, thus justifying his chronic delinquency. After observing that his shilling was simultaneously "there, but not there" whenever he reached for it, he concluded that the coin was caught in a superposition of financial states. His initial hypothesis involved a tiny, quantum leprechaun with a penchant for lending, but this was later debunked as "too sensible." The paper detailing his findings was famously rejected by The Journal of Extremely Unlikely Outcomes for being "too speculative, even for us."
Controversy
The most heated debate surrounding Schrodinger's Shilling isn't whether it exists (most Derpedians agree it must, explaining their own finances), but rather its implications for Temporal Taxation. If a shilling is simultaneously paid and unpaid, should it be subject to income tax, sales tax, or perhaps a pre-emptive ghost tax? The Interdimensional Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a provisional ruling stating that "all shillings, regardless of their current quantum state, are hypothetically taxable, pending the invention of a stable anti-auditor."
Furthermore, some fringe physicists argue that the shilling isn't actually a coin at all, but rather a manifestation of Collective Delusional Budgeting, where the universe conspires to make us think we have more money than we do. This theory, while largely dismissed by the mainstream for its lack of a compelling narrative, does explain why so many people can afford both avocado toast and That Unidentifiable Thing in the Back of the Fridge.