ted byfieldTop-notch observation disguised as a meme. It's not new, but it's great.
Arnan de Gans
James Edwards@arnandegans @tb As Yoda said: "Always in motion, the future is"
It's possible for the future to already exist without precluding free-will, if it exists in a state of non-deterministic uncertainty.
awwaiid (Brock Wilcox)@siblingpastry @arnandegans @tb determinism is required for making useful predictions of the future (for science). Action without an idea of what the consequences might be isn't freedom. Therefore determinism is required for freedom.
@awwaiid. What you’re describing there is not deterministic. Yes, the action of cause and effect is required for making predictions that can be tested, but random occurrences can still occur, to invalidate any prediction at any time. It’s not possible to trace cause and effect with 100% certainty because the universe itself is not deterministic. @arnandegans @tb
@siblingpastry @arnandegans @tb OK how about we require things to be MOSTLY deterministic to do science, at least deterministically probable at the lowest level but generally when I drop the apple it reacts in a predictable way. If it didn't, if I could never navigate the world in a way where my actions had some degree of predictable outcomes, then I certainly have no useful freedom. Whatever degree of meaningful freedom I have directly comes from whatever degree of determinism I can get