Is the universe deterministic ? 1/2
JANUARY 3, 2019 (updated on October 5, 2023)
Table of contents
According to the laws of classical physics, determinism implies that any event occurs according to the sequence of events that preceded it. Determinism leaves no room for choice, the consequence being dependent, complementary and inescapable of the cause.
However, one may not always be aware of the principle of causality at work. This is the case when we do not distinguish all the causes that have produced an effect. Or when the time elapsing between a cause and its effect is so long that we do not perceive the link between the two. The case of a ruptured aneurysm [1] is interesting to observe from this point of view. That’s what I propose you to discover in this article.
Consciousness and determinism
A ruptured aneurysm is the epitome of an event that has a cause, which is inaccessible until a perceptible physical manifestation occurs – for example, a bleeding headache – and a CT scan determines its origin. The bleeding is as sudden as the time between the formation of the aneurysm and its rupture can be long.
Thus, unless a previous examination has revealed the existence of an aneurysm, the “aneurysm” information can remain unconscious for a very long time. Unfortunately, it will only reach the conscious level when it breaks. If a scanner then immediately establishes the cause-and-effect relationship at this point, upstream in the chain of events, it becomes clear that the causality is less obvious to determine.
According to the neurosurgeon who took care of me, medicine cannot explain why an aneurysm forms or why it ruptures… or why it doesn’t. Especially for people who, like me, do not report any aggravating factors. Therefore, we cannot associate any cause with these events. Does that mean they’re acausal?
Two illusions are lurking here. The first is that these events without apparent cause are simply outside the deterministic framework. Without distinguishing between “there is no cause” and “there is a cause but my consciousness has no access to it”. The second is to say that whatever happens, everything is subject only to determinism. In this case, whether or not my consciousness has access to the cause, the principle of causality applies in all circumstances.
Could it be, in fact, our state of consciousness – or unconsciousness – that changes our perception of determinism?
A trompe l'œil determinism
According to the philosopher of science Michel Bitbol, the cognitive state of the brain and the state of the world are indeterminate until they come into relationship. There is a co-determination of one by the other. As in quantum physics, objects do not have intrinsic wave or corpuscular properties [2], but reveal one or the other of these states in relation to the context of the measurement.
“Our own behaviours [that lead us to adopt specific behaviours] depend on interaction with the world, they are not pre-coded in any way in the dynamics of the brain and cognition.”
MICHEL BITBOL [3]
In other words, cognition doesn’t work like an algorithm. For the philosopher, the power of the analogy with quantum physics lies in this teaching: everything is in a state of superposition, of initial non-determination.
On the contrary, standard models of cognitivism consider that everything is already encoded. And in this case, only this programming, this predetermination, this memory of the brain can be revealed in this or that situation. This is the model on which artificial intelligence works. There is nothing surprising about this: man simply reproduces what he knows. However, in order to compete with human cognition, robots would have to be encoded with “all the information necessary to respond to all the infinitely varied situations that can be encountered in a concrete world” [4] says Michel Bitbol.
According to him, the difference between a computer and our cognition is that the computer will only ever be able to conform to predetermined data where human cognition is only determined when it encounters a situation. Then “something crystallizes and a certain readiness to act is expressed that has not been actualized until now” [5] he adds.
Human Cognition: 1 - Artificial Intelligence: 0
Let’s see if this point of view is still relevant in the unified field theory. According to Nassim Haramein, there is a living, dynamic system that encodes every elementary amount of information at every moment: the universe. Through artificial intelligence, man would thus reproduce the way the universe learns… without necessarily being aware of his act.
The objective of the “Million Object Challenge” project [6], for example, is to share in a “cloud” accessible to all participating robots the learning of each one. In this way, everyone benefits in real time from the discoveries of others. If the cloud is to robots what the quantum vacuum is to each point of consciousness that makes up the universe, the comparison with artificial intelligence stops there. Because robots use only an infinitely limited amount of information to interact: information from the mechanistic world and not all the information from the quantum vacuum.
The information of the quantum vacuum is distributed in the field of human consciousness as well as in the field of the unconscious. In other words, there is much more information encoded in the quantum vacuum than can ever be encoded in a robot. The robot can only be powered by information from the concrete world, i.e. from what was once revealed to the human consciousness. It can only encode what is revealed and can only reveal what is encoded.
One could say that it is a mechanical system of conditioning while the universe is a living system that is gradually becoming conscious of itself. At its scale, the human being is connected to the conscious and unconscious fields of the quantum vacuum. Although it usually uses the information in the robot unconsciously to determine itself, it will always have “advance information” about the robot, which is taught in a completely predetermined way.
Everything is still being determined
With the same encoding principle, the human being is therefore a very large winner in relation to the amount of information available to him, information to which he does not necessarily have access, however. And with equal encoding principles, it is no less true that human cognition is only determined when it encounters a situation. Because none of these encounters are ever completely similar to any other. This is because human beings and the universe, each at their own level, are constantly learning about themselves thanks to the feedback of information that links matter and vacuum [7].
Everything is still being determined. Each new piece of information switches the system from a certain state to an undetermined state. And each encounter between cognition and situation causes the system to switch from an undetermined to a determined state. Thus, the feedback loop is like a dance between non-determinism and determinism.
In fact, the unified physics described by Nassim Haramein makes quantum physics as we know it obsolete. Rather, it proposes a model where determinism has as much place as non-determinism, thanks to fractals. The physicist explains :
“A fractal equation is a repetition of an equation that is deterministic, but when you repeat it it converts into a feedback open to infinity so that you have a completely non-linear, non-deterministic behavior. So from a very deterministic equation you get a complex non-linear result, and you justify both sides of the universe, the deterministic part and the non-deterministic part.”
NASSIM HARAMEIN [8]
Broadening our field of consciousness
Since our mental is grappling with the past-present-future sequence of events, its tendency will be to make us think of the universe in a deterministic way only. Perceiving the non-deterministic side requires us to broaden our field of consciousness.
On this emancipation depends our ability to access a larger share of the information contained in the quantum vacuum. The more developed our state of consciousness is in relation to the mind, the more likely we are to receive accurate, useful and consistent information. And the more we can make this type of information available to others, through the vacuum.
In return, we receive information that has interacted with other information in the quantum field. But always in resonance [9] with the ones we sent beforehand.
In the second part of this article, I propose on the one hand to discover how our state of consciousness goes hand in hand with our ability to decode this information and use it. And on the other hand, based on my experience, what I’ve seen of the dynamics between encoding and decoding information.
Key points
- The cognitive state of the brain and the state of the world are indeterminate until they come into relationship.
- The universe is always being determined by a continuous feedback loop between determinism and indeterminism.
- The universe is a living system that is gradually becoming self-aware.
Notes & references
[1] Read My Story to understand why I chose this unlikely example.
[2] See on this subject the articles About quantum theory.
[3] BITBOL Michel. (October 9, 2015). Notre pensée est-elle quantique ? [Is our thinking quantum?] France Culture, Public Science [podcast], free translation
[4] Ibid.
[5] Ibid.
[6] See How robots can quickly teach each other to grasp new objects
[7] See the article Quantum gravity and Schwarzschild proton.
[8] HARAMEIN Nassim, Nassim Haramein at Rogue Valley Metaphysical Library (1)
[9] See also the articles on the butterfly effect about resonance.
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