I'd still maintain that if it were possible to know enough variables, that one could predict future events. That being said, I also think that the complexity and vastness of such information prohibits us from doing so.

I wasn't going to post in this thread, but my brain chemicals made me do it.


Also, as has been mentioned before, quantum mechanics really throws a wrench in determinism. Then again, this is the way things are commonly thought of due to the most widely accepted interpretation of QM at this time. Other interpretations can potentially allow for determinism, but as far as I have been able to tell, most working physicists think of it as being indeterministic in terms of specific events, but basically deterministic as far as a range of events goes. But a range of events isn't exactly determinism as I think of it at all.

It is not the vastness of such information that prohibts us, even with a single particle eg an electron, the position and the velocity can not be determined simultaneously

How can you determine the future path of a single particle if it is not possible to measure the particles present state ie its position and velocity?

You may be right here Validity; however, at the risk of revealing the breadth of my QM ignorance, I'd have to ask: Because we cannot determine "X", does that necessarily mean it cannot be done? Often times, what humanity has held as undoable has, in later times, been accomplished as its understanding in such principles has increased.

I have absolutely no idea. Does my (or anyone else's) inability to describe how mean it is therefore not possible at all, ever?

Thanks, and apologies in advance if I'm way off base here - I'm just positing. If this is the case just let me know and I'll go back to standing in the corner.

Thanks

We would need an example of X, because I am unsure of what you are asking. Off the bat, not being able to determine X is not quite right. X can be determined with accuracy <100%, but never 100% accuracy. What did you have in mind when you said X?

How can you determine the future path of a single particle if it is not possible to measure the particles present state ie its position and velocity?

What are the main hindrances stopping these interpretations that potentially allow for determinism, from becoming the favoured interpretation?

Let me put it this way:

Can you know the future? Answer: Yes and No.

No.
We live in a world subject both to the passage of time and the law of quantum mechanics. Determinism is not possible from within our reference frame. You cannot know the future with 100% certainty.

Yes.
If you where a photon, relativity theory would cause you to travel forward in time at an infinite velocity relative to the material universe. From that perspective time actually becomes illusory. Past, present and future are one.

The big question is whether these two perspective have anything to do with each other.

Let me put it this way:

Can you know the future? Answer: Yes and No.

No.
We live in a world subject both to the passage of time and the law of quantum mechanics. Determinism is not possible from within our reference frame. You cannot know the future with 100% certainty.

Yes.
If you where a photon, relativity theory would cause you to travel forward in time at an infinite velocity relative to the material universe. From that perspective time actually becomes illusory. Past, present and future are one.

The big question is whether these two perspective have anything to do with each other.

I see two, perhaps interrelated problems interfering with absolute predictability.

The first is off course quantummechanics. You cannot tell what has happened to Schrodinger's cat until you open the box.

The second is chaos theory. Large changes can occur because of minor(essentially unmeasurable) differences in initial conditions. You can approach perfection in your predictive capabilities but never fully reach it.

And what would happen if the butterfly of chaos theory happens to be a single electron in the brain?

So you want to know if it is possible to predict your future?

Try this experiment. Simply think about something you want, make it something small to begin with. Think about it when you get up in the morning and think about it when you go to bed at night. Make sure it is something you want. You know what they say, "Be careful what you wish for because you might just get it."

What are the main hindrances stopping these interpretations that potentially allow for determinism, from becoming the favoured interpretation?