[PLUG-TALK] Re: Re: Omniscience vs. Freewill

[Russell Senior]

>>>>> "glen" == glen e p ropella <gepr at severin.tempusdictum.com> writes:

kl> I guess we differ on the definition of deterministic, then.  I
kl> connect it to the verb "determine", which implies an actor and two
kl> subjects (a predictive mental construct, and observations to
kl> describe).  You seem to be implying a weaker definition like
kl> "mathematically describable" or "partitionable result set".

glen> I use it in the sense of "what is will remain so", which I think
glen> follows the original intend of this thread.  The meaning is more
glen> at "fixed", "unambiguous", and "unalterable".  To _determine_
glen> something is used colloquially to mean "found out what is" and
glen> "forcibly fixed".  Plug those two together and you get the
glen> philosophical orientation that talks about an all-knowing being
glen> knowing all about things that haven't happened, yet.

glen> But, prediction has a tighter focus on time.  Literally, it
glen> means "to state in advance".  A process need not be determinate
glen> for some prophet to predict the state of that process in the
glen> future.  And a determinate process need not be predictable.

Just to interject: I think I was pretty clear when I used the word
"pre-determined" that I specifically disclaimed predictability.  And I
don't claim to reject QM, I am just ignorant about how, specifically,
it disproves or contradicts my model of the universe.

BTW, Glen mentions maps of Oregon.  This last week I've been having a
blast playing with GRASS and a set of 12 7.5-minute (10-meter
resolution) DEMs around Mt Hood that I patched together.  It is almost
as much fun as looking out of an airplane window, but without the
motion sickness.  I've discovered at least three things I never
grasped moving around on the surface about the geology of Mt Hood that
were just patently obvious looking at the DEMs, and I am pretty
familiary with the area.  Almost as mesmerizing as watching
HeatBugs. ;-)

Here's a link to an example (about 900k):

   <http://www.aracnet.com/~seniorr/mthood.png>

This is a view from a height of 100k (meters? of feet?), looking from
North to South.  The upper Hood River valley is in the left
foreground.  You can make out Bull Run Lake and Lost Lake near the
right edge towards the front.  You can also see the extent of the
Parkdale lava flow that blurts onto the upper HR valley.  You see a
little snippet of the upper Eagle Creek (there's more than one in
Oregon) basin in the front right.  The whole patch displayed is 30
arc-minutes (~35 miles) N-S and 22.5 arc-minutes E-W.

-- 
Russell Senior         ``I have nine fingers; you have ten.''
seniorr at aracnet.com