Perception can be induced. For example; it’s a sunny day, you’re lying on your back on a grassy hillside, just watching the clouds. Someone says ‘Do you see the dragon?’ and suddenly you do – previously random light and shade transformed into a stylised image.
Perception is retrospective. An incident in the here and now can cause you to see past events in a new light. The end of The Usual Suspects is a case in point.
The correct quantum mechanical definition of parallel universes is "universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event." This infers the continuous creation, or spawning, of alternate realities since the Big Bang.
However, to paraphrase Einstein, ‘God does not play dice’ – the universe is based on a consistent set of physical laws which govern its operation. A determinist would thus say there are no random acts, merely ignorance of all the factors which influence a given event. Of course a determinist is thwarted at the sub-atomic level, where merely observing an act can change the outcome.
Despite this you can adopt a ‘black box’ approach to inherently unknowable events – it doesn’t matter how a given result is achieved as long as the input (cause) and output (effect) can be measured and quantified. In Jurassic Park Jeff Goldblum attempts to explain Chaos Theory by dripping water onto Laura Dern’s hand – no two drops behave the same. I would say that if you drip water onto my hand, my hand gets wet – it’s simply a question of perspective.
Based on the above my argument is that the traditional multiverse of alternate realities doesn’t exist. The universe we currently live in is the result of deterministic systems, even if these are unobservable. It is the only possible end result.
Of course this deterministic universe has dire consequences for the concept of ‘free will’. Given that environmental factors have, at least in part, an influence on mental development (the old ‘nature versus nurture’ debate), then human behavior becomes just another unknowable – but quantifiable – system.
As it stands psychiatry is more of an art than science, although we already acknowledge the concept of behavioral imperatives that can influence, even dictate, our actions. There are things that make us laugh, make us cry, make us fall in love at first sight. The greater our understanding of psychopathology, the more fine-tuned these stimuli can become. Given this model of human behavior, ‘random’ acts would ultimately be revealed as a series of learned and/or instinctual responses, working in combination.
And yet…
Self-awareness sets us apart from the universe. ‘I think, therefore I am’ is its own proof of existence. It is not a learned response or instinctive behavioral trait. This isolated intellect, this voice in my head which can express conscious thought, is what makes everyone unique. This self-awareness, the ‘mind’, resides within the physical brain, almost as a lodger. It can end up a prisoner of the flesh due to infirmity or injury, but it can also exert uncommon control over its host (psychosomatic illness, bursts of superhuman strength).
In a very real sense what we believe to be true can fashion our individual reality.
In a very real sense every human is a ‘loose cannon’ in a deterministic universe.
Perception is retrospective. An incident in the here and now can cause you to see past events in a new light. The end of The Usual Suspects is a case in point.
The correct quantum mechanical definition of parallel universes is "universes that are separated from each other by a single quantum event." This infers the continuous creation, or spawning, of alternate realities since the Big Bang.
However, to paraphrase Einstein, ‘God does not play dice’ – the universe is based on a consistent set of physical laws which govern its operation. A determinist would thus say there are no random acts, merely ignorance of all the factors which influence a given event. Of course a determinist is thwarted at the sub-atomic level, where merely observing an act can change the outcome.
Despite this you can adopt a ‘black box’ approach to inherently unknowable events – it doesn’t matter how a given result is achieved as long as the input (cause) and output (effect) can be measured and quantified. In Jurassic Park Jeff Goldblum attempts to explain Chaos Theory by dripping water onto Laura Dern’s hand – no two drops behave the same. I would say that if you drip water onto my hand, my hand gets wet – it’s simply a question of perspective.
Based on the above my argument is that the traditional multiverse of alternate realities doesn’t exist. The universe we currently live in is the result of deterministic systems, even if these are unobservable. It is the only possible end result.
Of course this deterministic universe has dire consequences for the concept of ‘free will’. Given that environmental factors have, at least in part, an influence on mental development (the old ‘nature versus nurture’ debate), then human behavior becomes just another unknowable – but quantifiable – system.
As it stands psychiatry is more of an art than science, although we already acknowledge the concept of behavioral imperatives that can influence, even dictate, our actions. There are things that make us laugh, make us cry, make us fall in love at first sight. The greater our understanding of psychopathology, the more fine-tuned these stimuli can become. Given this model of human behavior, ‘random’ acts would ultimately be revealed as a series of learned and/or instinctual responses, working in combination.
And yet…
Self-awareness sets us apart from the universe. ‘I think, therefore I am’ is its own proof of existence. It is not a learned response or instinctive behavioral trait. This isolated intellect, this voice in my head which can express conscious thought, is what makes everyone unique. This self-awareness, the ‘mind’, resides within the physical brain, almost as a lodger. It can end up a prisoner of the flesh due to infirmity or injury, but it can also exert uncommon control over its host (psychosomatic illness, bursts of superhuman strength).
In a very real sense what we believe to be true can fashion our individual reality.
In a very real sense every human is a ‘loose cannon’ in a deterministic universe.
