smallest error in the initial positions — Banno
given an accurate enough account of the position of the box and a given ball, a competent physicist will be able to tell us which of the bins across the bottom the ball will land in. — Banno
The notion that the universe is determined fails. — Banno
if we possess free will, the act of making a choice is not an effect in the causal web. — TheMadFool
The argument would be something like "I want someone to blame, and I can't do that if you did not freely choose, hence you have free will"? That's, as you imply, a poor argument. Nor, I think, is it cogent....responsibility... — TheMadFool
The notion that the universe is determined fails. — Banno
The upshot seems to be that determinism is a metaphysical assumption form which the classical determinist view of physics follows, and that this assumption can be removed with suitable mathematical alterations. — Banno
I don't have access to the actual paper. — Banno
I don't have access to the actual paper. — Banno
The upshot seems to be that determinism is a metaphysical assumption from which the classical determinist view of physics follows, and that this assumption can be removed with suitable mathematical alterations. — Banno
It ought not to have mattered whether the laws of nature were or were not deterministic. For them to be deterministic is for them, together with the description of the situation, to entail unique results in
situations defined by certain relevant objects and measures, and where no part is played by inconstant factors external to such definition. If that is right, the laws’ being deterministic does not tell us whether ‘determinism’ is true. It is the total coverage of every motion that happens, that is a fanciful claim.
But of course no one could determine the final resting place of the ball. Even the smallest error in the initial positions will be magnified until it throws out the calculations. — Banno
The notion that the universe is determined fails. — Banno
One thus ought to consider alternative interpretations of classical physics that do not enforce the principle of infinite precision. Namely, interpretations that do not assume that physical quantities take values in the real numbers.
There can never be no error — Banno
So... our choices are accidental? Random? — Banno
Sure. The present conversation is not about quantum randomness. It's about indeterminacy in classical physics. — Banno
If you couple this arbitrarily small but nonzero uncertainty to a chaotic time-evolution, it is true you cannot predict the outcome of an event. But it is true because you could not specify the initial conditions exactly. I'm at a loss as to what can we learn from this? — Kenosha Kid
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