--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If a coin comes down heads, that means…" description: "\"If a coin comes down heads, that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/philip-pullman-525_another-world_if-a-coin-comes-down-heads-that-means-th_2185420.png" --- # If a coin comes down heads, that means that the… ![“If a coin comes down heads, that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal. But on another world, it does come down tails. And when that happens, the two worlds split apart.” quote by Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/philip-pullman-525_another-world_if-a-coin-comes-down-heads-that-means-th_2185420.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/philip-pullman-525_another-world_if-a-coin-comes-down-heads-that-means-th_2185420.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e03/philip-pullman-525_another-world_if-a-coin-comes-down-heads-that-means-th_2185420.png) > “If a coin comes down heads, that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal. But on another world, it does come down tails. And when that happens, the two worlds split apart.” [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes quantum superposition: before measurement, outcomes are equally possible; observation forces one reality, creating divergent worlds. **In simple terms:** Before seeing, both outcomes are possible; seeing picks one and splits worlds. Key Takeaway Recognize how choices solidify possibilities. Themes quantum physics probability choice multiverse observation Mood thoughtful curious analytical Type philosophical scientific When to use this quote - scientific discussion - philosophical debate - creative writing Key Concepts uncertainty measurement reality branching Questions to Reflect On - How do our decisions shape reality? - Can multiple outcomes coexist before choice? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex quantum mechanics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) [Coin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coin/) [Coin Comes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coin-comes-4739126/) [Coins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coins/) [Coming Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/coming-tails-4739128/) [Doe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doe/) [Equal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equal/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Possibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possibility/) [Splits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/splits/) [Tails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails/) [Tails Collapsed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails-collapsed-4739127/) [Tails Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tails-happens-4739125/) [That moment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/that-moment/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Money is made at Christmas out of holly and mistletoe, but who save the vendors would greatly care if no green branch were procurable?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-gissing/money-is-made-at-christmas-out-of-holly-and-mistletoe-but-who-save/) [George Gissing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-gissing/) > [I've got a coin with my face on it. It is really bizarre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-gillan/i-ve-got-a-coin-with-my-face-on-it-it-is-really-bizarre/) [Karen Gillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-gillan/) > [Flip a coin. When it's in the air, you'll know which side you're hoping for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-rothstein/flip-a-coin-when-it-s-in-the-air-you-ll-know-which-side-you-re-hoping/) [Arnold Rothstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-rothstein/) > [Learning, like money, may be of so base a coin as to be utterly void of use; or, if sterling, may require good management…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shenstone/learning-like-money-may-be-of-so-base-a-coin-as-to-be-utterly-void-of/) [William Shenstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shenstone/) > [Time is the coin of your life. You spend it. Do not allow others to spend it for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sandburg/time-is-the-coin-of-your-life-you-spend-it-do-not-allow-others-to/) [Carl Sandburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sandburg/) > [The difference between science and the arts is not that they are different sides of the same coin… or even different parts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/the-difference-between-science-and-the-arts-is-not-that-they-are/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [Advice, the smallest current coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/advice-the-smallest-current-coin/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [I got here the same way the coin did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/i-got-here-the-same-way-the-coin-did/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [I am accustomed to pay men back in their own coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-von-bismarck/i-am-accustomed-to-pay-men-back-in-their-own-coin/) [Otto von Bismarck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-von-bismarck/) > [If the day comes when you would find me again, give that coin to any man from Braavos, and say these words to him--valar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin-2/if-the-day-comes-when-you-would-find-me-again-give-that-coin-to-any/) [George R. R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin-2/) > [I usually have a few coins in my pocket when I'm playing, but the one I use to mark my ball on the green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-oosthuizen/i-usually-have-a-few-coins-in-my-pocket-when-i-m-playing-but-the-one/) [Louis Oosthuizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-oosthuizen/) > [Don't you think it's strange that life, described as so rich and full, a camel-trail of adventure, should shrink to this coin-sized world? A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/don-t-you-think-it-s-strange-that-life-described-as-so-rich-and-full/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [Melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-and-utopia-are-heads-and-tails-of-the-same-coin/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Spare a copper for our cause?" the girl with the coin cup asks, her voice weary. "I can spare more than that," I say.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/libba-bray/spare-a-copper-for-our-cause-the-girl-with-the-coin-cup-asks-her/) [Libba Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/libba-bray/) > [Take a coin from your purse and invest it in your mind. It will come pouring out of your mind and overflow your purse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/take-a-coin-from-your-purse-and-invest-it-in-your-mind-it-will-come/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) ## More by Philip Pullman > [The state of mind which I put myself when I tell a story is one in which superstition flourishes very easily. And I welcome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-state-of-mind-which-i-put-myself-when-i-tell-a-story-is-one-in/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [We don't need lists of rights and wrongs, tables of do's and don'ts: we need books, time, and silence. Thou shalt not is soon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-don-t-need-lists-of-rights-and-wrongs-tables-of-do-s-and-don-ts-we/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have stolen ideas from every book I have ever read.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-stolen-ideas-from-every-book-i-have-ever-read/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [All the stories of the Bible that I know came to me first from my grandfather's lips... He would see stories in everything. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/all-the-stories-of-the-bible-that-i-know-came-to-me-first-from-my/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [What I do say is that I can write verse, and that the writing of verse in strict form is the best possible training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/what-i-do-say-is-that-i-can-write-verse-and-that-the-writing-of-verse/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Writing is tyranny ... but reading is democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/writing-is-tyranny-but-reading-is-democracy/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“Middlemarch is a novel that is diminished by being put on the screen. It can't help but be, because so much of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/middlemarch-is-a-novel-that-is-diminished-by-being-put-on-the-screen/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [I have maintained a passionate interest in education, which leads me occasionally to make foolish and ill-considered remarks alleging that not everything is well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/i-have-maintained-a-passionate-interest-in-education-which-leads-me/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [And think what worrying does: has anyone ever added a single hour to the length of his life by worrying about it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/and-think-what-worrying-does-has-anyone-ever-added-a-single-hour-to/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“The question authors get asked more than any other is "Where do you get your ideas from?" And we all find a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/the-question-authors-get-asked-more-than-any-other-is-where-do-you/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“We are all subject to the fates. But we must all act as if we are not,” said the witch, “or die of despair.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/we-are-all-subject-to-the-fates-but-we-must-all-act-as-if-we-are-not/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Lonely? I don't know. They tell me this is cold. I don't know what cold is, because I don't freeze. So I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/lonely-i-don-t-know-they-tell-me-this-is-cold-i-don-t-know-what-cold/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Just finished 'Secrecy' - truly enthralling both as a love story and as a tale of suspense - but much more than both.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/just-finished-secrecy-truly-enthralling-both-as-a-love-story-and-as-a/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [“As Auden is believed to have said, no poem saved a single Jew from the gas chambers. Never mind. Write the poems anyway. Play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/as-auden-is-believed-to-have-said-no-poem-saved-a-single-jew-from-the/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) [Explore all 479 Philip Pullman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) ## More Another world quotes > [I identify with Superman. 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Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/) [Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/) > [Remove from the history of the past all those actions which have either sprung directly from the religious nature of man, or been modified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-hopkins/remove-from-the-history-of-the-past-all-those-actions-which-have/) [Mark Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-hopkins/) > [“Here, in the garden at night, it is another world, strange and yet friendly and familiar, never frightening. There is such quietness, such sweetness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-hill/here-in-the-garden-at-night-it-is-another-world-strange-and-yet/) [Susan Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-hill/) > [“A novel is not an allegory...it is a sensual experience of another world. If you don't enter that world, hold your breath with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/a-novel-is-not-an-allegory-it-is-a-sensual-experience-of-another/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it's going to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/to-try-to-really-land-a-spacecraft-really-on-another-world-is-really/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“Story is a butterfly whose wings transport us to another world where we receive gifts that change who we are and who we want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harley-king/story-is-a-butterfly-whose-wings-transport-us-to-another-world-where/) [Harley King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harley-king/) > [“And it was then that the things I've never liked to talk about began. 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Save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-ansell/one-late-autumn-day-i-opened-the-back-door-to-fetch-some-water-and/) [Neil Ansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-ansell/) [Browse all 707 Another world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If a coin comes down heads, that means that the possibility of its coming down tails has collapsed. Until that moment the two possibilities were equal. But on another world, it does come down tails. 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