5 ms·

The big programmer in the sky, responsible for the entire simulation is having fun introducing new variables, whenever our science gets close to the edge of hav

The big programmer in the sky, responsible for the entire simulation is having fun introducing new variables, whenever our science gets close to the edge of having figured out all of the existing variables. It’s like moving the cheese :-)

codeulike 5y ago
"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe
- some_furry 5y ago
  It has also happened 42 times already.
- interfixus 5y ago
  "Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out".
drak0n1c 5y ago
Perhaps probabilistic quantum effects offer a way to disguise deliberate runtime manipulations from internal observers.
- emerged 5y ago
  You can also sneak in free will via those effects. The narrative of a purely mechanical deterministic world has fallen apart probably more than is recognized.
  - wizzwizz4 5y ago
    Free will does not imply, nor require, determinism. Non-determinism (randomness) does not imply free will. The concepts are orthogonal.
    - zeven7 5y ago
      Parent said you could sneak in free will. I don't know that you can really combine determinism and free (autonomous) will.
      - wizzwizz4 5y ago
        It's easy: you are the process making your decisions. All determinism means is that your existence was predetermined (i.e. computable in advance, if you had the true omniscience and nigh-omnipotence-levels of compute power to do so); “your actions are predetermined” from there just means that your actions are a result of you, rather than randomness. If you are within the universe, then determinism doesn't prevent free will in the slightest. It only screens off free will if you believe that free will can only come from an external-to-the-universe supernatural spirit (and ignore that you haven't explained how that has free will). Non-determinism only gives you free will if you further believe that that random noise somehow gives rise to this supernatural spirit, or allows it to affect the world. For a physicalist, non-determinism actually weakens free will (though not by much). Remember: all non-determinism can be modelled as determinism plus random input. You can factor out all non-deterministic effects as an extra input bitstream (or… probably real-stream if the universe is continuous) fed into a deterministic process. From that point of view, non-determinism doesn't really harm free will all that much. All it means is that you're affected by another thing you don't know about, but that's already the case in every conversation you have with another human, deterministic or no.
        zeven7 5y ago
        Under determinism you don't have autonomous free will, and nothing you wrote in those 5 paragraphs actually explained otherwise. PS I neither believe in free will nor determinism.

codeulike 5y ago

"There is a theory which states that if ever anyone discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened." ― Douglas Adams, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe

some_furry 5y ago
It has also happened 42 times already.
interfixus 5y ago
"Overhead, without any fuss, the stars were going out".

drak0n1c 5y ago

Perhaps probabilistic quantum effects offer a way to disguise deliberate runtime manipulations from internal observers.

emerged 5y ago
You can also sneak in free will via those effects. The narrative of a purely mechanical deterministic world has fallen apart probably more than is recognized.
- wizzwizz4 5y ago
  Free will does not imply, nor require, determinism. Non-determinism (randomness) does not imply free will. The concepts are orthogonal.
  - zeven7 5y ago
    Parent said you could sneak in free will. I don't know that you can really combine determinism and free (autonomous) will.
    - wizzwizz4 5y ago
      It's easy: you are the process making your decisions. All determinism means is that your existence was predetermined (i.e. computable in advance, if you had the true omniscience and nigh-omnipotence-levels of compute power to do so); “your actions are predetermined” from there just means that your actions are a result of you, rather than randomness. If you are within the universe, then determinism doesn't prevent free will in the slightest. It only screens off free will if you believe that free will can only come from an external-to-the-universe supernatural spirit (and ignore that you haven't explained how that has free will). Non-determinism only gives you free will if you further believe that that random noise somehow gives rise to this supernatural spirit, or allows it to affect the world. For a physicalist, non-determinism actually weakens free will (though not by much). Remember: all non-determinism can be modelled as determinism plus random input. You can factor out all non-deterministic effects as an extra input bitstream (or… probably real-stream if the universe is continuous) fed into a deterministic process. From that point of view, non-determinism doesn't really harm free will all that much. All it means is that you're affected by another thing you don't know about, but that's already the case in every conversation you have with another human, deterministic or no.
      - zeven7 5y ago
        Under determinism you don't have autonomous free will, and nothing you wrote in those 5 paragraphs actually explained otherwise. PS I neither believe in free will nor determinism.