Uncertainty, Causality, Free Will and the Weird Universe
I spent a lot of time listening to podcasts and videos on the topics for this post and I'm afraid I only succeeded in confusing myself. Searching for uncertainty and causality led to some fun discussions of free will, which I didn't realize was such a debated topic! I learned that Einstein was a Determinist. His position was the everything has a cause, and therefore all actions are determined by a previous event. Looking at it this way, we have little to no free will but instead are palying...
But the Uncertainty Principle threw a wrench in that too. If we can change a particle by observing it, there must be a multitude of possibilities before us. We then must be able to exert our own choice...
Determinism = everything is a series of actions and reactions dependent on the last and within its set of circumstances. There is no free will - everything lies withhin a set range.
Causality = the principal that everything has a cause. There must be a reason.
I love the idea that we can change a particle by observing it. I spent a lot of time in the band room in high school, where i became fascinated with tuning forks and the frequency of soun; an A-flat for example is usually tuned to 440hz. A-flat is fun because there are other frequencies that can be used as well. What I always wanted was a chart correlating the frequencies of notes to those of light so that we could paint according to written music, sort of like a pint by number. I assumed that since they were both waves, they would equate. I still dig a little for that information from time to time, but never turn up anything that strongly correlates. Perhpas its because light is both a particle and a wave.
But the Uncertainty Principle threw a wrench in that too. If we can change a particle by observing it, there must be a multitude of possibilities before us. We then must be able to exert our own choice...
Determinism = everything is a series of actions and reactions dependent on the last and within its set of circumstances. There is no free will - everything lies withhin a set range.
Causality = the principal that everything has a cause. There must be a reason.
I love the idea that we can change a particle by observing it. I spent a lot of time in the band room in high school, where i became fascinated with tuning forks and the frequency of soun; an A-flat for example is usually tuned to 440hz. A-flat is fun because there are other frequencies that can be used as well. What I always wanted was a chart correlating the frequencies of notes to those of light so that we could paint according to written music, sort of like a pint by number. I assumed that since they were both waves, they would equate. I still dig a little for that information from time to time, but never turn up anything that strongly correlates. Perhpas its because light is both a particle and a wave.
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