Exactly this! First, if all the initial conditions of the Universe at the highest granularity possible were known (10^1000? likely higher), then to calculate t

Exactly this! First, if all the initial conditions of the Universe at the highest granularity possible were known (10^1000? likely higher), then to calculate the current state of the Universe (10^17 seconds) at every step along the way, once per Planck time (10^44 per second), ... a calculation on the order of 10^1000^10^17^44 states (did I get that right?) No computer which exists IN our universe could hope to tackle such a calculation ABOUT said universe, in any reasonable amount of time. (Of course you could cheat like game developers do, but that's another conversation.) Second, if a conscious entity is able to calculate and predict step N+1, they can choose to alter that step. This kind of article and comment is fun to think about -- does it even make sense to ask the question in the first place?