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Not exactly. We've pushed determinism down to the level of quantum mechanics. Bell's theorem strongly implicates that the universe is fundamentally non-determ
by CuriouslyC 10y ago
Not exactly. We've pushed determinism down to the level of quantum mechanics. Bell's theorem strongly implicates that the universe is fundamentally non-deterministic. The way I see it, you can interpret this non-determinism as randomness, or you can interpret it as choice. The thing I find ironic is that most scientists - who espouse parsimony and deduction based on observation - choose the random explanation. If quantum indeterminacy is random, it is the first truly random process we've ever discovered. Additionally, when a scientist states that their perception of choice is mistaken/an illusion, I have to ask, then how do you trust any of the data you base your science on?
- themgt 10y agoYep, mostly agreed. I think if you squint a little, it's possible to see how real non-deterministic "choice" can bootstrap itself out of QM. Do we have a theory describing how? No, but such a theory would inherently upend the foundations of science and western philosophy, so even if we don't have it in hand, it's worth pointing out there's a fair amount of ... circumstantial evidence(?) in that direction.