[wcoenen]

We can't directly observe superpositions (macroscopic or otherwise) because when doing so, we become entangled with the state of the observed object. The only thing special about macroscopic objects is that it is difficult to prevent or postpone their entanglement with the environment.

Think about Schrödingers' gedankenexperiment from the cat's point of view. It finds itself to be either comfortable or dying by toxic fumes; it can't see the superposition because it is inside of that superposition. The same thing happens to any observer trying to look at a quantum superposition.

[JulianMorrison]

Box closed: two cats, one scientist. Box opened: two cats, two scientists, each sees one cat. Entangling yourself with the superposition pulls you into it.

[trhway]

>Entangling yourself with the superposition pulls you into it.

following that logic and taking cat as the observer, Mr.Cat PhD, the superposition is that doubles the number of cats (and PhD's :).

Yet it works in the other direction - entangling a cat (a macro-object with macro-state) with superposition had already destroyed the superposition well before box is opened.

>> it can't see the superposition because it is inside of that superposition.

it can't see the superposition because the superposition is gone because he got entangled with it.

[JulianMorrison]

The cat is pulled into the superposition by interacting with the results of the detector and the poison vial. There are two cats from the "outside", but from each cat's perspective it sees only a single "random" outcome. Superpositions aren't destroyed - you are subsumed within them.

[trhway]

>There are two cats from the "outside", but from each cat's perspective it sees only a single "random" outcome.

in a given Universe there is only one cat. A human observer just doesn't know what the state of the cat in his Universe. The cat knows.