Re: Time To Tie A Bow Around It
You have avoided discussions of probabilities associated with your beliefs. That is what got us where we are now. It is often said “science is done with numbers”. If you wish to be scientific about exploring the possibility (or impossibility) of God’s existence, you cannot ignore probabilities and statistics. Anything less and I could simply call the foundations of your beliefs in the non-existence of God “totally illogical and not at all based in science.” Got it?
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And yet they have a MUCH more solid foundation of science than anything you have offered on the opposing view. Sure, you can always say “I can’t prove a negative”, and yet you never extend yourself to provide scientific explanations for your views. You can do so right now by discussing what is more probable than not.
On the basis of entropy, energy, and the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, when applied to complex systems. I’ve explained it all before, but I guess, as you have admitted, you are not very knowledgeable in these topics. Open loop processes follow a path of increasing entropy, which means less and less organization, which means lower complexity. Greater organization, increased complexity, and decreasing entropy can only be achieved through closed-loop processes. And a closed-loop process is a mark of self-awareness. Indeed, any closed-loop system, being self-referenced, has a measure of self-awareness. The system is aware of its goals, and it knows the states of (has information on) the external environment it is seeking to affect.
And so are you telling me we should apply two DIFFERENT forms of statistical analysis and probability theory to them, just because they are different? That would not be scientific, now would it?
I don’t disagree. I only seek to clarify that what you are talking about is LINEAR logic. Did you know that non-linear phenomenon actually have a higher information content than linear ones? You can extract more knowledge from non-linear phenomenon than you can from “normative” phenomenon.
- It is relevant, for you have described how you rely on “normative” logic to determine your beliefs. The mathematics of normal distributions deals with probability.
- I explained it to you. See above.
Ah, well, yes… you DO know that my mission in this incarnation is to reconcile science and spirituality. (Now I am beginning to get insulted that you keep bringing up religion. I have told you before the difference between the two.) I’ve asked before: If I cannot use science and engineering to show the evidence for a Creator, how, precisely, am I supposed to go about it?
Again, 2nd Law of Thermodynamics when applied to complex systems. “There is no free lunch” or “Organization just doesn’t happen on its own.”
If man can create a self-aware being, which, like us, could think, act, and reproduce, then in doing so we validate that it is much more “normal” to believe our highly complex universe (which is also self-aware) came about as a direct act of creation.
It would be a bit more than a theory if one were actually created, wouldn’t it?
Not a linear logical imperative. We (actually NASA) are already planning on sending self-aware robots on long duration exploration missions. They will obviously not be able to see or touch us. So your argument does not stand. Furthermore, when one studies AI techniques for creating self-awareness, one can see reasons why we would NOT want our creations to have detailed knowledge about us, their creators. The reason being is that, since it is self-aware, if it knows who/what we are, it WILL seek us out…rather than perform its mission to gather data and report back to us via broadcast communication.
In fact, this issue you have touched off, Roel, is actually getting close to the root of the matter for why God is not readily apparant to us. We are all on missions. And the exact things you disbelieve as being “non-normative” are the means by which “mission control” sends commands to us and receives data from us. It is all spelled-out by the 3x3 Matrix of Non-Physical Mind (a complement to the 3x3 Matrix of Massive Spacetime), which we have yet to discuss.
They are the energetic means by which the earth renews itself. The earth is a closed-loop system, and it takes actions to keep itself in balance and “on track” to reach its goals. The earth “knows” it cannot reach out to the rest of the universe without us. Our human desire to explore ever larger boundaries (outward spiral, anyone?) will be the precise means that will permit the earth to begin to stretch out, and form networks with other living planets.
I never said it did. But when you look at linearity as a mere subset of a much more rich tapestry of non-linear phenomenon, you can’t deny the fact that linear logic can lead to false “truths” because it does not take into consideration non-linear effects. Linear logic is based solely on what we perceive, and we have both agreed in the past that what we perceive is far from “the whole story”.
Well, you’ve left a helluva lot out…in fact, most of the evidence I have provided in this long thread. You could start by adding back in what the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics tells us about entropy. And then add in information theory, and how information is the element used to transition from open loops to closed loops. And then add in your own statement, which I agree with, that said “in order to create you need to be self-aware”. Add to the mix that a closed-loop system forms a continuous loop of creation, that is self-referent (self-aware, to one extent or another), and top it all off with the tidbits of chaos theory and fractals, which explain to us how we live in a predominantly non-linear universe.
So far as you are aware. Again I point to the general topological structure of the central nervous system (and any form of intelligent self-awareness): the network. Have you ever looked at the structures and phenomena of the universe to see if they DO have the same sorts of properties? For instance, electrical impulses within a chemically-based substrate are the mechanism for information exchange within our own central nervous system. Seeing that mankind has yet to provide a good explanation (and/or reason) for both gravity and magnetism, do you see the distinct possibility that these two phenomenon form a means for information exchange within the universe? I’ll tell you what I do know about gravity and magnetism: They are the effects of an interdimensional phenomenon that we perceive in our 3x3 Matrix of Massive SpaceTime. We see only these effects, and not their purpose in linking the dimensions. We do not see the information they carry, we only see their result on matter in our dimension.
If you wish to be scientific about it, yes.
And you are content that you cannot provide scientific evidence that backs-up your belief? Ok, then. As long as we are both in agreement that I am using science to describe the evidence for my beliefs, and you are not. Works for me.
Yep…and proud of it. It puts me in the league of great scientists who knew that the only way we could advance our knowledge is by taking broader and broader views of how things integrate in our universe. Maxwell would not have quantified the laws of electromagnetism if he did not think beyond what he could perceive. This type of “outside the box” thinking is what leads to those big “A HAs!” that move us forward.
Did you not read the website I offered? If you don’t like that, then I would again refer you to the mathematics of fractals and chaos theory. These maths, used in analytical ways, are non-linear tools that help us probe the depths of reality… to uncover relationships between things that we previously referred to as “second order effects”. It is becoming clear, as we study highly non-linear phenomenon, that those “second order effects” are really the driving forces, and what we see as linear observations are simply the byproducts (and the linear effects are also big time energy wasters, as well!). Did it ever seem absurd to you that our electronics waste so much energy in the form of the heat they give off? That is precisely because all of our electronics have been designed to “linearize” their effects. If we started to develop designs that leveraged the inherent non-linearity of nature, there would be a lot less energy wasted as heat!
It proves nothing of the sort. All this belief of yours “proves” is that you still maintain that “reality” is defined by what your senses perceive. It “proves” that you are content living in the 2% universe… while some of us have tasted the full-cream, whole milk universe and are already using it to make some of the best butter ever! 
RMT