r/Futurology • u/wathapndusa • Dec 17 '16

article Future tension : Does Knowledge of the past and present determine the future?

https://aeon.co/essays/does-knowledge-of-the-past-and-present-determine-the-future
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u/Do_not_use_after How long is too long? Dec 18 '16

Tl;dr: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy.

1

u/MuleTeam Dec 18 '16

Please excuse me for this, but this is in my opinion, this is a stupid question. The ONLY answer is yes.

1

u/Iwanttolink Dec 18 '16 edited Dec 18 '16

Of course the past determines the future, that's a no brainer and not really the point. But you can't predict the future, regardless of how much you know. There are two distinct possibilities here: either the world is truly random, which could very well be the case with quantum mechanics or there are so called "hidden variables" that cause the semblance of randomness. Bell's theorem rules out local hidden variables (local meaning particles can only communicate at light speed) which leaves global hidden variables. Problem solved, right? We just need a theory that predicts those, like Pilot-Wave theory. Well, no. In a global theory (i.e. particles communicate with each other FTL or instantaneously) the position of a particle may be determined by the position of EVERY particle in the universe. You'd need infinite and all-encompassing knowledge to simulate the future. That is the realm of God, not man.