[triMichael]

The answer to this which makes the most sense to me is that the wave function collapses when the information exists that determines the quantum state. In Schrodinger's cat, this would be when the Geiger counter detects the quantum state, but by the time the cat dies/does not die and the researcher opens the box, everything is already in the classical world.

Schrodinger's cat was made to be a thought experiment to show how absurd some of the ideas about the quantum world are. We are unable to prove whether the cat does go into a superposition or does not. Personally, the ideas that superposition is tied to whether consciousness observes it doesn't make sense to me. After reading about some of the stranger experiments such as the quantum eraser experiment, I've gravitated towards information theory being the missing link. If that is true, then the astounding conclusion would be that the fabric of our universe is information!