NIN

First off, I'm not quite sure if this is in the right section...I guess that in some sense this could be considered more of a philosophy question than a science one. Anyways, here goes: Most people probably believe that we have free will, and that all of our actions are completely decided by, well, "us". I'm not so sure about it, though. Here's my reasoning: Most of the universe seems to work in very exact clockwork patterns. If you mix A amount of B chemical with X amount of Y chemical, it will always produce the same results. No variation. Of course, you could say that something like flipping a coin is random. But is it really? The amount of force you flip it with, which side is face-up to begin with, how far it has to fall etc. are all factors in how it will land. So doesn't it boil down to exact physics? With that being said, if things typically aren't random and are always decided by every tiny factor involved, who's to say that our brains are any different? If a certain person is placed in a certain situation, wouldn't they always make the same decision? Obviously you couldn't test this because if you put a person in the same situation twice, they'd essentially be a different person the second time, as they'd know the results of what happened the first time. Can anyone provide any arguments against my theory? Does anyone agree with it? Thanks, NIN.

I finally got it. I feel like an idiot now, it's simple as Hell. I was just over-thinking it and trying to come up with super complex ideas to how it works, when it's actually really simple. What I didn't take into consideration is the fact that the host will not chose the door that you've already chosen.

Interesting. I've never thought of the fact that the universe probably isn't storing the past. On a side note: To people who say that time doesn't really "exist", I'm pretty sure it does. Matter is known for bending space and time...If time is affected by matter, then doesn't that mean that it must exist?

He'd avoid all except #777,777, but he'd also avoid the one you chose in this particular situation. So I still don't quite understand what the difference is...

Wow, I guess so. That's a hard one to think about, though. To me, the thing that's confusing is that it doesn't make sense that the door that YOU chose should change the probability, since the chooser is an external force, and shouldn't affect the outcome of the problem itself. It seems as though it should go from 33% 33% 33% into 50% 50%. I guess your right though, it's just confusing to me, for the reasons I just said. I'm sure I'll understand it more thoroughly with thought, though.

I really don't get this problem (isn't it from the movie 21, lol?) What I don't get is how the # of the door affects anything...Idk, just doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I'll get it after some more posts.

Very nice post. I'll be thinking this one over for a while.

Well, I was looking at the calculus guide, and I noticed that there were a few things that I hadn't learned in school yet, and it's kind of hard to do forms of math such as calculus when I don't really know the prerequisites too well, if at all. I see what you mean about it being more complex than simply a singular line of expertise. I'll try to find out what's best for my self.

Hi, does anyone have an "order" of maths? I know it sounds strange, but I need a list of different types of maths, and in which order they should be explored. I hope to be a mathematician or a physicist someday, but I'm still struggling with the 10th grade math that I'm doing now >.< so I'd like some type of list, so that I can first perfect the current math that I'm doing with online guides, then know where to move next. Also, this would help me ace a lot of my math tests. If anyone has any advice, or a link or anything of the sort, it'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

I've heard of people being overhormonal, with it's different causes and effects. But can someone give me more information on this subject? What usually causes a person to become overhormonal? What are many of the effects or symptoms? And encase you're wondering, the reason I ask, is because I have huge manboobs for a male of my size and age, and I'm also harrier than any of my friends that are my age. People have said that it could have something to do with being overhormonal/having overactive or dysfunctional hormones. So I'm just curious, and decided to see what some rather more credible, intelligent sources could say about the subject.

I'm pretty sure the planet expands, however a minuscule amount it may be. But, it has nothing to do with dark matter or whatever you mentioned, it's because the Earth takes in 20 tons of matter per day, through meteorites. Of course, whatever you mentioned can happen too, although I know too little in those subjects to really say anything of them.

Well, that sums that up. Thanks to both of you guys. I understand it now

Ok. As many of us know, the larger an object is, the more powerful the gravitation field. Also, the closer two object's are, the stronger the gravitational attraction. So, here's what doesn't make sense to me. Look at the planet Mercury. It's a reasonably large planet, and the closest one to the Sun. It's close enough to stay in orbit, yet far enough not to get sucked in by the Sun's gravity. Then, look at Pluto. It's like 10 times as far from the Sun as Mercury, and way smaller, and yet it doesn't drift off? So, my question is, how is that the Sun's gravity is weak enough to not suck in Mercury, yet strong enough to keep Pluto in orbit?

I'm sorry if I'm bumping up a dead thread, but I used the search function to find this, so I don't know how "dead" this is. I'm reading the book (I don't own it, I have to keep going to the library, even though it's only across the street) and it is really confusing. I'm only on the third chapter...But seeing as how I'm just a 10th grader, this is already becoming a pain to understand >.<

It's been a while since I've replied to this thread, so I've got a lot of catching up to do Paldren, I think your post was the most interesting (personally). Things can appear to be random, although the actual randomness is far more likely to simply be a deterministic clockwork beyond our understanding. Also what you said about the paradox of a "future calculating" computer was very interesting, and answered a question of mine actually. Back when I first came up with the ideas presented in this thread, I thought to my self that it's very possible for the future to be determined through calculations in a deterministic universe. Then the question came to me "What if a being knew everything, calculated the future, then chose to change the said future?" But your computer-paradox statement fixed that for me. Everyone else that posted, sorry I can't reply to you specifically. But I'll keep reading and (hopefully) replying to this thread.

Not that anyone reads these threads, but I'll have a go anywho. I'm 15, I live in Arizona, and recently I've been having an increasingly dire thirst for knowledge, mostly physics and psychology. I suppose it's just curiosity.

Interesting...It makes a good bit of sense, I s'pose. So it's very arguable then?

This is a tad off-topic, but I have a question relating to the gravity of the sun and Earth. If the sun or Earth were to gain a lot of weight (suppose the Sun got hit by a bunch of meteors or something and got heavier), do you guys think that the gravity would increase enough for the Earth to be pulled into the Sun?

Does your child do it alone, or only when you or other people are around? I would assume that such an action would be done partially for attention. Kind of like a baby crying for a bottle, the child could possibly want you or someone else to know how angry he or she is.

On the subject of randomness being similar to free will, I suppose it's simply because I see randomness as an absence of determination. About everything else that you mentioned...Well, I don't know. I'll have to think about it.

I can't say I completely disagree - although I'm effectively a hypocrite just for that, I suppose. I'm a 15 year old American, so I guess I'm used to it...But at the same time, I'm not too different from what you described. I don't talk like a gangsta, I don't walk around with "gadgets" (never had an iPod, only had one cell phone), I don't wear a hat, and I don't compete to look like others at all, and yet I can still see a resemblance in my self of what you speak of. Interesting. EDIT: After thinking it a bit more, I'm really starting to realize what you're talking about. Walking around school, all you see is guys walking around with chicks trying to sneak in a mention about their penis in every sentence, or all-to-often people making out on the walls to show how cool they are for having a girlfriend. Just like everyone else. And then there's the prejudice. Everyone seems to love making fun of gays, Jews, emos etc, just so that they can rejoice in the fact that people are "under" them. Again, I'm probably a hypocrite, as I'm still a bit of an attention whore just like everyone else, it's just that I achieve that status in a different way than all the other bone-heads my age

About electrons "deciding" to move. Is that a truly random phenomenon? I know nothing about that topic, but is that a case in which absolutely NOTHING causes it to happen? And, I believe someone said that randomness would only hinder free will. The reason that I believe that a universe absent of any random activity would be a universe with no free will, is that the future would be predetermined, would it not? And if the future is far predetermined, I don't see how our choices really exist.

Really? Interesting. Randomness doesn't make sense to me at all. I know nothing about quantum mechanics. Could you perhaps describe some of this to me in a dumbed-down sense, or give me a link to a site that could help me understand this a little better?

Hi. I'm new to these forums, and I just joined because I have a lot of curiosity, and I'm not exactly the best scientist in the world, so go easy on me I've a bit of a "theory" (I'm sure I'm not the first...) about free will, and why I doubt it's existence. I'd like to see if I'm right, and if not, what part of my theory I went wrong in. Here's the idea. First off, nothing is really random, correct? Like, if you hit a pool ball on a pool table from X angle with Y amount of force, you would be able to calculate EXACTLY where it would end up. Right? Thus making it not random? Now, if nothing is random in that sense, wouldn't it be the same inside the brain on a very small scale? Such as chemicals mixing and energy flowing, absent of any random things happening. If that is correct, exactly where does the free will take place? Again, I'm no rocket scientist, so I'm sure that I'm either incorrect, or this is well-known knowledge, but I would like some feedback. Thanks in advance.