June 14, 200818 yr Answer this riddle, and you may be the next winner of the Nobel Peace Prize!:laugh3:
June 14, 200818 yr Author Uncle Albert (Einstein) said, or words to this effect: "God does not roll dice with the universe!". But Probability has shown as a useful tool in describing many phenomenon in Physics, not the least of which is Quantum Mechanics, as well as string "theory". Yet, I've often pondered what randomness really is? An infinite series of simultaneous equations, all with 'tipping points'? Something else?? The sound of all those strings vibrating out-of-sync?:P This thread brought to you by the Infinite Improbability Drive. As with the spaceship The Heart of Gold, Drive it like you stole it!:cool:
June 14, 200818 yr Well, you only waited 50 minutes...and this isn't exactly a physics forum. Though I do think "randomness," even in quantum mechanics, is pretty silly because any seeming random process must be made random by some mechanism...which means it isn't actually random. "Random" number generators in computer programs are completely predictable if you know how they work, and unless there's an obvious contradiction, I'd guess "random" events in particles are the same way. But since the eggheads among you are now convinced I'm nuts and everyone else has no idea what I'm talking about, this post is pretty pointless...
June 14, 200818 yr And if god does not exist? Define God. The question of randomness in the universe is similar in my mind to the debate between Calvinists who preach predestination and other denominations of Christianity that think we have the ability to change our destinies. If the universe isn't random at the most basic levels, then we are just cogs in a gearbox. Our lives and thoughts are predetermined like the Calvinists claim. So for me, it is entirely understandable why God would allow the universe to be random at least in some ways... maybe this has to do with his desire to give us free will?
June 14, 200818 yr The answer is 42 :glasses2: Only if you're a follower of A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy................ :rolleyes:
June 14, 200818 yr Wouldn't everything be so much easier if everyone believed in one god/the same figure in every city/state/country? Just imagine...
June 14, 200818 yr Wouldn't everything be so much easier if everyone believed in one god/the same figure in every city/state/country? Just imagine... I think there virtually is - going by the name of "Money"!!:dozey:
June 14, 200818 yr Wouldn't everything be so much easier if everyone believed in one god/the same figure in every city/state/country? Just imagine... Noooo, politically speaking this would be an absolute disaster. Remember that politicians would take advantage of this and claim they're the "chosen ones" or they have some direct line of communication with God to become world leaders. I think the ideal situation is either what it is now (with competing religions) or that everyone would be agnostic. The reason I say agnostic and not atheist is because I believe there needs to be some basis for morality in society, and when people don't have religion to look to for it, they tend to want to make the government the arbiter of ethics. That places too much faith in human institutions.
June 15, 200818 yr shouldn't the question be "does god have a gambling addiction?" check out tomorrows daily mail, with pictures!
June 15, 200818 yr Define God. The question of randomness in the universe is similar in my mind to the debate between Calvinists who preach predestination and other denominations of Christianity that think we have the ability to change our destinies. If the universe isn't random at the most basic levels, then we are just cogs in a gearbox. Our lives and thoughts are predetermined like the Calvinists claim. So for me, it is entirely understandable why God would allow the universe to be random at least in some ways... maybe this has to do with his desire to give us free will? god is a gas! :D according to alan partidge anyway...and he knows what he's talking about :D
June 16, 200818 yr Author Simultaneous Equations with Tipping Points Ahem.. Getting back to the original question, it's more about our imaginations, investigations, and the concepts in Physics that I'm trying to understand. (Although, the answer could be hidden in Calvin's beard..:laugh3: if predestination leads us inexorably to the the answer!) 42 sounds nice, but the ultimate question was what was lacking.. So, after a lengthy conversation with an anthropologist alumni and good friend from the U of Chicago, who had the fuzzy recollection that it might have something to do with the mathematics of the Big Bang / Big Bangs.. Perhaps nothing really is "random", but part of the driving mechanisms relative to the theoretical event that spawned the Universe as we know it. Predestination? Only time will tell! I still cling to the notion that it's related to all the simultaneous equations describing chaotic events with tipping points, leading to a smaller number of steady states; as one dimension is allowed to continue (the time dimension), a sampling of these interacting forces/equations can be detected, and appears to us as random. Hence, radioactive decay, dice landing up snake eyes, etc. (and yes, random number generators really aren't - that's quite true. But they may contain a hint in the complexity of their equations that yield stable state outputs which have sufficient complexity to approach true randomness) - perhaps it's somewhat like taking the limit on any number of chaotic equations with tipping points, in that as the number of equations approaches infinity, the randomness of the output approaches some infinite unpredictability?):P More research needed on this one..
June 16, 200818 yr Maybe whether God exists is specific to each individual. That could be possible if you consider that the universe might be changed by consciousness, and if you don't believe God exists, then he doesn't - for you, at least. Like the measurement being changed by observation in quantum experiments.
June 16, 200818 yr Maybe whether God exists is specific to each individual. That could be possible if you consider that the universe might be changed by consciousness, and if you don't believe God exists, then he doesn't - for you, at least. Like the measurement being changed by observation in quantum experiments. wise
June 16, 200818 yr I don't think random exists. I don't want to think enough to make an argument. It's 2:30 AM and my eyes are sore. Maybe today. No. Not today. Because I am not intelligent enough for this conversation.
June 16, 200818 yr time exists only within our minds. time is a measurement. one minute, you may be reading what i'm saying, but at the same time, you'll be doing something totally different. Maybe making some breakfast or reading a book. The current always stays current though the current always stays the past and the future as well. Time is not past, present and future, time is just time. The future always turns current, and the current always turns past. So the future is past. The current is just the bridge for future to turn into the past. yes, i wrote that.:D
June 16, 200818 yr time exists only within our minds. time is a measurement. one minute, you may be reading what i'm saying, but at the same time, you'll be doing something totally different. Maybe making some breakfast or reading a book. The current always stays current though the current always stays the past and the future as well. Time is not past, present and future, time is just time. The future always turns current, and the current always turns past. So the future is past. The current is just the bridge for future to turn into the past. yes, i wrote that.:D Or are you about to write it??:rolleyes:
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