>> What happens if you shut the double-slit experiment away in a box, with 
>> photon detector attached to each slit?  Will the interference pattern 
>> still be generated?
>
> No.  Worse, check out this:
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheeler%27s_delayed_choice_experiment
>
> Basically, the photon behaves differently even if you measure it *after* 
> it has passed through the slits. Which is why it's pretty safe to assume 
> it's not "going thru both slits" when you get the interference pattern.

But put the whole thing inside a big closed box so nobody can observe the 
patterns (exactly like the cat in a box setup).  If a cat's status is not 
decided until someone looks inside (even though there is a particle detector 
and related mechanisms inside) then why should the interference pattern not 
be there if nobody is observing it?

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