Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/3/84; site talcott.UUCP
Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!mcnc!philabs!cmcl2!seismo!harvard!talcott!gjk
From: gjk@talcott.UUCP (Greg J Kuperberg)
Newsgroups: net.physics
Subject: Re: Re: Re: why FTL is illegal (wrt: free will).
Message-ID: <171@talcott.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 6-Dec-84 17:07:53 EST
Article-I.D.: talcott.171
Posted: Thu Dec  6 17:07:53 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Dec-84 06:29:47 EST
References: <683@gloria.UUCP> <785@ariel.UUCP>  <148@lems.UUCP> <152@talcott.UUCP> <277@rlgvax.UUCP>
Organization: Harvard
Lines: 27

> But that just says that the universe just appears random because we haven't
> looked in great enough detail.  If you assume 1) a deterministic and
> complete theory of how the universe works, 2) 100% no exclusions complete
> knowledge of the initial state of the universe, and 3) enough computing
> ability to crank the model forward from that initial state, you can predict
> all future states of the universe.
...
> 	Guy Harris

A big milestone in weather forecasting was when they computed twenty-four
hours of weather in twenty-four hours.  The thing about a non-linear system
is that it may take more time than you have to predict its future.

Some people conjecture that even if we had a computer as big as the
Earth, it would take us more than ten years to compute ten years of
weather on Earth.  Thus what the weather will be ten years from now is
*unknowable*, and therefore random.

In any case, we would have to know the position of every molecule in the
atmosphere, also an impossible task (even in classical mechanics).
---
			Greg Kuperberg
		     harvard!talcott!gjk

"Madam, there is only one important question facing us, and that is the
question whether the white race will survive."  -Leonid Breshnev, speaking
to Margaret Thatcher.