  Arguments have been raised that the system--observer cut of quantum mechanics
can be shifted arbitrarily close to, or even into, the conscious observer. Here
I show that this view leads to {\it observable} contradictions (despite our
inability to control the phases of macroscopic states). For this purpose I
modify and extend Schr\"odinger's well--known superposition of a cat in its
dead and alive state. Implications for other interpretations of quantum
mechanics are also discussed. My conclusion is that quantum mechanics is
incomplete. The question ``When does the state vector collapse?'' seems to be
unavoidable, has observable consequences, and is not answered by quantum
mechanics.
