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I am arguing that classical physics can not in general predict human behavior. That has nothing to do with determinism, and everything to do with incomplete in

I am arguing that classical physics can not in general predict human behavior. That has nothing to do with determinism, and everything to do with incomplete information. Your postulate was such: It seems readily apparent that the future is not predictable solely using classical physics That means the future is not deterministic, but our current standard model says otherwise on scales that matter for this kind of situation. The inability to predict human behavior and other external events is entirely because of lack of complete knowledge about the system. That doesn't mean it's not deterministic, nor unpredictable given the right knowledge. You fundamentally misunderstand these concepts you are arguing, and again I recommend further reading before you continue to engage in such debates.

TheCoelacanth 9y ago
> The inability to predict human behavior and other external events is entirely because of lack of complete knowledge about the system. That is clearly not the case. You cannot predict the contents of someone's research paper about quantum physics no matter how much foreknowledge you have using only classical physics. That is a macro scale event that cannot be modeled using only classical physics. That is proof that classical physics can not model macro scale events with perfect accuracy.
- kakarot 9y ago
  You're using circular logic. Classical physics can't predict the future because classical physics can't predict the future. Try again.
  - TheCoelacanth 9y ago
    It is not circular logic. My premises are: 1. Classical physics cannot predict the results of at least one physics experiment. This should be uncontroversial because otherwise the field of quantum mechanics wouldn't exist. 2. The results of said experiment can be observed at a macro scale. This should also be uncontroversial because the publication of experimental results is observable at the macro scale. It follows directly from those two premises that there is at least one macro scale phenomenon that classical physics can not predict.

TheCoelacanth 9y ago

> The inability to predict human behavior and other external events is entirely because of lack of complete knowledge about the system. That is clearly not the case. You cannot predict the contents of someone's research paper about quantum physics no matter how much foreknowledge you have using only classical physics. That is a macro scale event that cannot be modeled using only classical physics. That is proof that classical physics can not model macro scale events with perfect accuracy.

kakarot 9y ago
You're using circular logic. Classical physics can't predict the future because classical physics can't predict the future. Try again.
- TheCoelacanth 9y ago
  It is not circular logic. My premises are: 1. Classical physics cannot predict the results of at least one physics experiment. This should be uncontroversial because otherwise the field of quantum mechanics wouldn't exist. 2. The results of said experiment can be observed at a macro scale. This should also be uncontroversial because the publication of experimental results is observable at the macro scale. It follows directly from those two premises that there is at least one macro scale phenomenon that classical physics can not predict.