3 ms·
Seems a rather odd definition to make, then. Radioactive decay has large-scale effects, such as determining The elemental composition of the universe. Quantum
by MereInterest 9y ago
Seems a rather odd definition to make, then. Radioactive decay has large-scale effects, such as determining The elemental composition of the universe. Quantum effects govern the entirety of the universe, so I'm not sure why you would want such a large exception to your generalization.
I would go the other route. Nothing can be predicted, except statistically.
- abritinthebay 9y agoIt's only odd if you're worrying about it outside of the context that the parent comment was talking about. Which I wasn't. You clearly are. Yes, quantum stuff exists. At the scales the OP was talking about though they are mostly insignificant therefore I hand-waved them because they were not relevant to the discussion.
- MereInterest 9y agoAs far as I could tell, the thread started from the mention that Einstein believed that the universe is deterministic, which set the context of the thread. This argument is traditionally seen in context of quantum effects, and whether or not there exist hidden variables.
- abritinthebay 9y agoAt the level of discussion in advanced physics, yes. But that’s also because that’s where the really interesting work is. It’s quite a different scope of conversation