Another possibility, called the many worlds interpretation, would be even weirder: that all the possible states are real, and when the wave function collapses to one state, we're just experiencing one of many universes that exist simultaneously, in which every possible outcome happens.
Fortunately, there is another possibility, called "mandated choice," under which people must indicate their preference.
The horror vacui that possibility calls up dwarfs the slight existential unease created by severely limited shopping opportunities.
A few days ago, before a Mississippi audience, Mr. Clinton beamed at the possibility, calling the Democratic pair an "unstoppable force".
A possibility called tropical shrimp was sweetly tasty but two lonely and not overly large shrimp on a bed of shredded lettuce for $5.50 were no buy.
But J. Craig Venter, president of Celera, played down that possibility, calling the public effort "a very different project with a very different goal".
That possibility — called "adverse risk selection" — could raise the entire community-rated premium curve from, say, the green curve to the red curve, adding to the premium shock of healthy people.
Dr. Peter Shor, the scientist at AT&T Laboratories who proved seven years ago that quantum factoring was a theoretical possibility, called the new advance, being reported today in the journal Nature, "an impressive accomplishment," though he added, "There's still a long road ahead before we develop useful quantum computers".
In-between two extremes, we investigate a third possibility, called Clusters with Neighbor Information (CNI).
How can you bring a sense of delicious presence to this ambiguous possibility called now?
One possibility called for the absorption of Goldman Sachs by Citigroup; another for the marriage of Morgan Stanley to JPMorgan.
