The two timelines are an example of "Schrodinger's Cat" by secret lost fan

I think the two timelines are an example of the paradox of Schroedinger's cat. In Quantum Physics, Schroeding perfoms a thought experiment where he places a cat in a box with two bowls of food. The cat can choose which bowl to eat from, but can only eat from one of them. The question is: without opening the box, is the cat alive or dead. Schroedinger concludes that while the box is still closed, the cat is both alive AND dead. It is by the act of observation (e.g., opening the box) that forces the cat to choose one reality or another.

The big question this season is whether Jughead was part of the initial "incident", or whether it offset the "incident" so that, among other things 815 never crashed.

What we're seeing is the two possible realities playing out at the same time. In effect, we are in the box with the cat. Since the juncture of the bifurcation happened in 1977, we are seeing (in the ALT) changes beyond merely not crashing in 2004.

The question I have is, who will be the observer who opens the box? Clearly not the losties. Jacob and/or MIB? I think they are in the box also, although I think their endgame is all about getting whoever is the observer to open the box.

Any thoughts?