In Zoom meeting or teaching, Schrödinger’s participant is a thought experiment that illustrates an apparent paradox linked to meeting in virtual mode, where a participant is represented by a mute black square on the presenter’s computer screen. In that thought experiment, a hypothetical participant may be considered simultaneously both physically and mentally present and absent, a result which cannot be disentangled until the participant is observed i.e. camera and microphone are open. At that point, the quantum state of the participant crystallizes in the present or absent state.

Disclaimer: the following is a thought experiment and any resemblance to a real life situation is purely coincidental.

Credit: the image is from contactmapping.com.