Many
of us are not happy about the idea that our future could already be determined.
Imagine the world, where every your action is the result of already taken
actions. Being unable to shape and influence your destiny at a given moment
might sound disturbing.
The reality might not necessarily be that grim. In order to better understand
what I am getting at, watch the video:
Questions:
· Did you know about Butterfly effect before? Looking back, can you recall occurrences of what could be Butterfly effect?
· Can you give examples of some complex reality models? How they compare to weather prediction science, as portrayed in the video?
· What do you think about the idea that the future could be predetermined? Should it be true, can it change the way we live?
Comments
Yes, heard many times, it is strange and fantastic phenomenon let's say. One day I used not very precise word to describe my friend reaction to something. After some time, many conversations, magnifications and other it was brought up again and this friend immidiatelly started an argument just because it was not precise. This person took offense for many days, before we get to calmy discuss, but that fight changed our relationship forever. It's maybe not the best example but I cannot recall any other.
2. Can you give examples of some complex reality models? How they compare to weather prediction science, as portrayed in the video?
Maybe the model of evolotion? I watched a simple simulation how being kindness can evolve and depending on various initial states and values altruism could die out or live long and good. By adding more and more variables such simulation will never be predictable.
3. What do you think about the idea that the future could be predetermined? Should it be true, can it change the way we live?
I believe it is true. But I don't know how can it change our lives. Maybe we would accept more calmly what happens everyday to us, because we can not change everything.
Some situations might not look like perfect examples, but in order to find the truth, we need to highlight and analyze even those. Thank you, that you brought this up.
Regarding evolution, I highly recommend you(any of you) YouTube channels SebastianLague and Primer. Those guys tried to implement(among other things) simple evolution simulations, using popular multimedia engines.
I've heard about it from many movies and games. It's actually a really popular trope in the gamedev industry, which allows the player to see many different endings, based on their actions. It is still impossible to detect even the smallest action and change the story relatively to that, but it's getting much better! For me, I think that being able to apply to my current job was a Butterfly effect. I got a chance, because I won a competition, that I was really skeptical about. And now I have a great job, and I still can't believe how good it went!
2. Can you give examples of some complex reality models? How they compare to weather prediction science, as portrayed in the video?
That's a difficult question, and I can't think of any scientific example, but maybe the way how love works? I mean, it's a really complex topic, and it's hard to tell who are we going to fall in love with, and if we are going to be fulfilled in the relationship, or is it just a short romance.
3. What do you think about the idea that the future could be predetermined? Should it be true, can it change the way we live?
We heard about it in a lot of stories, so I think that it isn't a new concept. This idea of a predetermined future was present in myths from ancient Greece, so I'm sure that most people are aware of it. In my opinion, it doesn't really matter, until there is no way for us to look into the future. Because if we don't know what is going to happen, we have no way of changing it, and our life moves forward, as it wasn't really predetermined, because we don't know about it.
I am a determinist. I believe that everything has a cause, it happens and then it affects the next things. If we can observe certain microscale phenomena, for example in genetics and biology, why would they not work at a macroscale? Why do we accept that with our experiences with electric current we can prove the theses put forward and no one will object, but when it comes to more complex systems, such as the human brain, which is like not looking at a collection of cables, we reject the idea that our behavior could also be predicted ?
Many people are terrified by the thought that someone could predict the future, or their behavior in the future. People are terrified of the thought that they would lose their conviction of having free will. By performing a series of experiments, it would turn out that our brain works in a specific way, it was formed thanks to specific events and experiences. I am convinced that, just as in classical physics, knowing all the forces acting on a given system, we are able to predict the result. The same in the case of the human brain, if we miraculously knew its structure, chemical composition and the amount of energy in individual synapses, we would be able to perfectly predict what decision will be made. This would be an undeniable proof that people do not have free will.
(Yes, I know about quantum indeterminism ;) )
Interesting. Being able to connect events together is always exciting. I am glad, it all went perfect. :)
Simulation of love is something I have never thought about. Thanks for this bringing up this unique concept and insights. Maybe you should capitalize on that and research it further?
@ Karol Sołtysiak
Your analysis of the topic is of great detail. I appreciate it.
In my opinion, we will never attain a state where we can reliably research all details about human mind. As such, we will not be able to prove that the system is fully deterministic :)
Well, but the science still goes on and the possibility of new answers is thrilling, as always.