Richard Robertson

Thanks, Reg!  Happy new year!!!

Legislative confusion in Texas over banning or permitting  sexually explicit material in school libraries. (Hint: Bible, yay or nay?)

Cult 45, unboxing in the limelight.

https://youtube.com/shorts/AnL7yVjpG-I

(Christmas present.)

As part of my divorce, I gave the whole house and contents to my almost-ex wife. I then landed the perfect place to live. I’m ‘caretaker’ for my friends spare house (the mother died a while back) sort of like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.

I pay a peppercorn rent and have a four bedroom house in the woods with 6 acres of land, and heating from…[Read more]

Hey Reg!  Thank you!  Great year of Sunday School 🙂

_Robert_ wrote:
This is the logic of christian apologists.

I was wondering when we’d hit post #55555. I missed it by one!

Unseen wrote:
Now, a final word on introducing the quantum world into the discussion. There is no predeterminism because quantum level events can influence events in the world of everyday Newtonian/Einsteinian physics.

I agree, and I feel responsible for potentially confusing a free will discussion with a mostly separate discussion on potential,…[Read more]

PopeBeanie wrote [while quoting ChatGPT]:
You could clarify what you mean by “external agent.” Predetermination does not require consciousness or an agent; it simply refers to outcomes being fully predictable given sufficient knowledge of a system’s initial conditions and laws. This applies even to purely physical processes.

I do want to clari…[Read more]

LOL, IMO, you’re sounding more intelligent than the AI, in this case, as it looks like it’s just responding as basically as possible. Also, did you set it to respond to you more interactively, as it’s always asking for your opinion.

I’m still only at a basic level, and am interested in the wave collapse as if entangled particles must exist on a…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
any LLM like Chat gpt or meta

Dang, can’t believe I didn’t think of that.

I always tell people to ask it questions in a way that you’d try to ask human experts. What’s been written on the net by humans is what LLCs draw from to formulate answers. (But sometimes it’s inaccurate, like humans can be… but it listens to your…[Read more]

Thanks, Reg!

So I’m devil’s advocate for both sides, now.

For believers in free will, I ask, do you believe you have power over determinism, or is determinism not even a thing?

For those arguing against free will, is there any harm in others believing in it?

I’m not on the fence. I don’t believe it exists in an absolute sense, but I’m happy to ride as if it…[Read more]

jakelafort wrote:
Somebody asks you do you believe? Have the integrity to say yes or no. And if asked for an explanation don’t go all cock and bull jive turkey circumlocution and obfuscation.

Seems to me that all JP was saying is that for him, stating a belief in God is hypocritical unless he can actually fully walk the walk of what a truly d…[Read more]

I like the feeling of free will. I enjoy some optical, and maybe some other illusions, too. Is believing in free will potentially harmful to one’s self or others? It’s not like believing in God, then forcing others to also believe.

Loopy thought: Must not the feeling of free will at least be a product of determinism? A legitimate product of…[Read more]

Unseen wrote:
How do you account for free will in a way that rescues the “free” part of free will and attaches it to the “will” part of free will without violating the scientific laws of the universe?

Absolutely. Nothing new here, not sure, did I misuse the word emergence? Free will couldn’t emerge, except as a theoretical or philoso…[Read more]

Here it is:

(Verse 1)
Yo, it’s the tale of determinism, science in the rhythm,
Where every cause is linked, no room for schism.
The universe, a script, no freestyle decision,
Every action’s locked tight like a prison.

But wait, we flip the beat, science enters the scene,
It’s the methodical method, if you know what I mean.
Hypothesize, test,…[Read more]