Has anyone seen my neutral pointer?

[Whateverist]

But none of those things is neutral.  Apparently we are only to grunt indifferently in the general direction of the boxes and leave it at that.

I was simply responding to Benny's contention that the photon doesn't behave "like matter should."  As far as grunting at the box, I don't think that's an answer.  I believe that every term of reference we think up will be found to be embedded in a theory about the how and the what.  No matter how "neutral" we go, we'll never be able to escape the theory dependency of reference.  If we ask if it's a cat in the box, we're operating under the theory that cats occupy boxes.  If we ask if there's an animal inside, we're operating under the theory that the box is a container for stuff.  If we ask if the box is a container for stuff, we're operating under the theory that the box can be other than a container of stuff.  No matter how primal we go, we'll always be making assumptions and have a preformed concept of the how and the what of boxes.

And I'm agree with you.  Amazing what the mind can imagine.  Our OP is imagining stepping outside the contracts of his own mind .. using what?  While his mind of course.