[antonvs]

> _no_ model can predict what state the cat is in.

Perhaps you meant to say "...state the cat will be in when observed"?

Otherwise, an important nitpick applies: superposition means that the system is not in any single state, so there's nothing to "predict" - it's a superposition of all possible states.

Prediction comes in when one asks what state will be observed when a measurement is made. As far as we know, that can only be answered probabilistically. So no model can specifically predict the outcome of a measurement, when multiple outcomes are possible.

[godelski]

I mean even without being observed by humans, the cat is in either the alive or dead state. It can't be in both. It is just that our mathematical models can't tell us with complete certainty which state that is. (People also seem to think humans are the only observers. Particles are observers too)

[hoseja]

I think what is not mentioned nearly enough is the need for isolation to prevent decoherence of the cat. You need to make sure the box is it's own universe totally disconnected from the rest. Then I'd say it is a little more intuitive that parallel insides of the box might exist in superposition.

[godelski]

But it also can't be a real cat. Because if it was a real cat then the cat itself collapses the the wave function. Literally any particle interaction does. Really what is important here is that us being on the outside and in a different reference frame (we're assuming we can't do any measurements of things inside the box. Think information barrier) we can't obtain any definite prediction of the cat's state, only probabilistic. The information barrier is the important part here.