I guess I don't see free will as explainable through the laws of physics, so I guess in that sense you could call it mystical. I don't believe that however well you could accurately describe a person's brain's state, that you could predict his or her choices through probabilistic methods only.
If other versions of you exist that made other choices, then there is no free will. There is only the coincidence of being in the universe where that particular choice was made. I see this as being similar to the anthropic principle, if that helps. A type of observational bias.
If I read what you are saying correctly, you're talking about continued good choices leading towards a greater likelihood of good choices in the future. But I don't see how that's possible because there will be just as many universes (in some sense) where you made bad choices as there are where you made good choices. So why wouldn't your same argument work in reverse?
Hey Siro and Colton, what do you guys think about the quantum eraser experiment, and what does it say about the observer role?
You both seem to know a lot about this. Curious what you think about it.
No that was perfect. Thanks.
Is it possible to post a picture of the output of the actual experiment, and not just a representative diagram?
Well yes, the reverse is also true. Bad choices increase the likelihood of other bad choices. So each choice you make has very real consequences not just for yourself, but for your meta-self. I see it as an expanded definition of choice.![]()
You got it! I just remembered I had a video of the double slit experiment from a previous semester.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NH_Jsl0FxYU
We're shining a laser through two side-by-side narrow slits positioned at the back of the room, towards the white board at the front of the room. The red laser is kind of hard to see in the video, but the green laser at the very end is much easier.
I'm still not getting it. In your view, don't bad choices and good choices happen with equal likelihood? (And if not, why not?) So one meta-self is getting more and more good, but another meta-self is getting more and more bad?
Thanks. The green laser was really cool. Was it just a laser pointer type thing? Could I do this at home?
Why would both outcomes have equal likelihood? Remember that an individual retains information from past events, and uses that information to make the choice. The end result is analogous to biological evolution. Say one version of you makes the choice to drink and drive and ends up in an accident, while another decides against it and ends up alright. Both decisions will have been made in countless universes, but in equal probability because the decision is based on your brain and the experiences in accumulated. Then after the choice is made, those who made the right choice will 1. Live long enough to make other choices, 2. Gain new information about the wisdom of not driving drunk, which will be used in making future choices.
Siro/colton,
Both of you seem to be assuming in your discussion that human decision making would be a type of even that triggers a split into alternate universes in a many-worlds scenario. I don't pretend to understand the details, but it that accurate? What about human decision-making would trigger such a split?