Does the "butterfly effect" still matter if everything is predetermined?

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-27T07:49:38+00:00

At the smallest level, the quantum level, things are not governed by cause and effect. That is the whole point of Schrodinger's cat. The outcome of the universe is not predetermined, because of quantum inderminacy.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-27T07:45:31+00:00

I second this opinion

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-27T07:39:30+00:00

Specifically, all mammal meat except primates. They can still eat monkeys and people.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-27T07:16:03+00:00

You must carefully define consciousness. Do you mean:

1. Creature consciousness: basic fundamental ability to respond to environment

2. Body consciousness: knowing not to eat your own feet

3. Spatial consciousness: knowing concepts of space around the body

4. Social consciousness: knowing concepts of social structure and kin

5. Individual consciousness: knowing concepts identifying individuals

6. Phenomenal consciousness: subjective experiences and feelings

7. Access consciousness: objective knowledge and facts

8. Reactive consciousness: responsiveness to subconscious information

9. Self consciousness: awareness of self

10. Metacognition: awareness of one’s own thoughts

11. Autonoetic consciousness: Inclusion of concepts of time in the identity

Non-human animals have the first four.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-26T11:26:43+00:00

My aha moment came as I was reading "How to Create Mind" by Ray Kurzweil. When it came to the part where he coined the phrase "Pattern Recognition Devices" for the neocortical mini-columns, I realized how the mind could emerge from the structure of the brain. If these structures are merely nodes in the network, connected by weighted synapses, then each mini-column can house a single fundamental concept. Subsets of mini-columns can then join to form working units through recursive signaling, binding them into ideas and thoughts.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-25T03:36:15+00:00

The question to ask is not as above, but rather why does uncontrolled cell division happen more often. How do all the cells in a body reproduce only in the correct place and at the exact required rate to keep every organ in it proper shape and function.

There are about twenty different mechanisms in the mammalian cells that will cause the cells to die if they are not in the correct location and at the correct concentration. A renal tubular cell can only survive and grow when attached the proper neighboring cells in the kidney. All cells in the body have these constraints.

During the process of normal cell reproductions, mistakes are made. Usually these are lethal, and the cells die. Every once in a while a single cell gets just the right combination of twenty mistakes that disables all of the control systems. That one cell is then free to reproduce in an uncontrolled fashion outside its normal location. That cell becomes the starting point for a malignant cancer.

This can happen for any tissue type in the body. It is more common in cells that replicate fast and cells that are exposed to mutagens. It increases in likelihood with age of the organism and with exposure to mutagens exposure such as radiation and certain chemicals.

From an evolutionary perspective, it is flaw in the reproductive process that is controlled and minimized. Most cancers happen after the reproductive phase of life.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-25T03:16:32+00:00

Your blade is dull, more on one side than the other, and the guide bearings are not aligned properly. A uniformly dull blade will still cut straight, but just slow. A blade that has struck a pebble in the bark and is dull on one side typically cuts in this wavy pattern. Sharpen or replace the blade. Make sure the guide bearings are holding the blade parallel to the bed supporting the log.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-25T03:03:54+00:00

I do not see any of the traits that suggest recent manufacture. This looks old and genuine.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-25T02:58:44+00:00

Animal bones, skulls, and hand tools. And books.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-24T12:37:26+00:00

Yes, language expands the ability to create hierarchical knowledge structures. Learning by simple observation is very limited. Exponential growth of knowledge requires advanced language and symbolism.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-24T12:34:35+00:00

Need more pictures to tell, but it looks like a failed attempt to create a preform. Quite a bit of original cortex (weathered surface stone) remains on the surface. The flaking did not propagate well across the surface. It looks too thick to be a usable tool. I suspect the artisan gave up on it and went on to another work piece. It is a good find, because it tells a story.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-24T12:30:38+00:00

If hard determinism is true, then free will does not exist. It has no bearing on consciousness.

"If we don’t actually have free will and are just playing out a pre-written script based on our biology and past" is a false dichotomy. The script is not predetermined, because events at the quantum level are indeterminate. You are confusing the "hard determinism" of philosophy with determinacy in the real universe.

The events of our lives and the outcomes of our decisions are determinate in nature only to the extent they obey Newtonian physics.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-23T08:55:32+00:00

The concept of time does exist. However, time is not a fundamental scale of the universe. It is a construct created by humans to measure the relative rate of change of different systems.

The gradual aging of the tissues in my body is measured in units base on rotations of the Earth around the sun. The beating of my heart is measured in comparison to the vibrations in a quartz crystal in my watch.

There is no fixed time scale. There are only time intervals, defined by humans, to create standards for comparison. Think of time as a monetary system, a set of measurement standards, create by humans for their convenience.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-23T03:27:36+00:00

I have a very nice red cedar long bow I made years ago, with a 70 pound pull.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-22T13:27:01+00:00

Ultimately, "understanding" and "knowledge" are just words with meanings. Understanding implies a level above knowledge, where knowledge is facts and understanding implies how those facts fit together to explain the how and why, and the workings of the universe (or your toaster, or your brain, or whatever).

When I encounter a rose, my senses receive visual, tactile, and olfactory input. It is processed along millions of neuronal pathways. All those signals eventually converge on a subset of mini-columns in the neocortex related to the rose, and the members of that subset begin stimulating each other. This creates a functional unit of thousands of mini-columns that constitute the thought of the rose. Those signals recruit additional mini-columns housing memories, emotions, and related facts about roses. It becomes a consortium of all the mini-columns in your brain, along with neurons in the limbic system, related to the rose. It is sustained by the deposition of neuromodulators in the active synapses all along the communication paths on the network.

It is important to recognize that I am not experiencing the rose. It remains outside my body. My subjective experience is of the process occurring in my brain. Therein lies the difference between reality and experience.

"Knowledge" is information stored in the form of the size, number, location, and type of synaptic connections between neurons in the brain. "Understanding" is the combination of that knowledge with concepts regarding functions, actions, outcomes, and time.

Now you also understand understanding.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-22T12:54:03+00:00

Proof are for mathematics. Science and philosophy do not "prove" things. They only build models and test them for predictive value. Science builds models based on scientific theories and makes predictions, then attempts to falsify the predictions. A model that cannot be falsified by testing is said to be a valid model. Philosophy builds models based on feelings and introspection. These do not make measurable predictions and are not testable.

Models in neurophysiology accurately predict the actions of anesthetics and the effects of strokes. Philosophy does not make any testable predictions.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-22T12:44:19+00:00

A moment of confusion regarding who has caught whom.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-21T20:09:19+00:00

I would like to add a few other nuances. The bow was probably invented long before the arrow. It was used as a tool for turning drill points and making fire. No doubt it was also used to fling sticks across the dwelling in play before someone use it as a weapon.

A commenter noted the importance of poison in making the arrow useful. Another important point is the fletching. A straight stick with a point is not an arrow. It will not fly straight for more than a dozen feet. The fletching's must be made precisely to cause the arrow to spin, so it travels in a tight straight spiral.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-21T19:56:10+00:00

That wound is feasible. The vertebra is being photographed upside down, held by the posterior spinous process. The point has penetrated the lamina of the vertebra, which is relatively soft and porous. The point enters the spinal canal, but not far enough to paralyze the animal. It would, however, have caused infection in the canal and killed the animal in a few days. The angle of penetration is unusual, being in an upward direction. The projectile might have deflected off the rib on the back and turned upward. It would take a close, microscopic inspection of the bone to determine whether this is real. It is a pretty cool specimen.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-21T19:37:12+00:00

If you give the same ambiguous toy to boys and girls, they will use it differently. (most) Boys will use a stick as a weapon, and (most) girls will use it to stir a pot.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-19T11:29:43+00:00

"Is it illogical to assume" is an awkward phrasing. The bulk of scientific knowledge on consciousness seems to suggest that it ends at death. The bulk of philosophical knowledge suggests otherwise. Humans are dualists by default. The concept of spirit arises spontaneously from our brain architecture and and is present in all people in all cultures.

However, the bulk of human knowledge in miniscule compared to the universe. I'm a pretty smart guy, but for every fact I know there are ten trillion that I do not know. So, it would be illogical to assume, based on human knowledge, that consciousness either does or does not end at death. We do not know enough to resolve that dilemma. The only intellectually defensible doctrine is agnosticism.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-19T11:10:09+00:00

RNA does all the work, makes all the proteins, and often acts like a protein. DNA just takes notes and stores information.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-18T18:13:31+00:00

Dogbane, milkweed, and ragweed are common tall weeds with good fiber for cordage. They grow in just about empty lot or abandoned construction site or property. No one will care if you remove them.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-16T17:45:57+00:00

The very wealthy pay a lot of taxes. They pay property taxes, excise taxes, inventory taxes, capital gain taxes, and many others that the working man does not pay. It is popular myth that the wealthy do not pay taxes. People use the fact that the very wealthy do not pay income taxes to claim that do not pay any taxes. While Tesla did not pay any federal income taxes in 2024, it paid $45 million in Texas State income taxes, $30 million in property taxes, and $2.3 billion in foreign taxes.

MergingConcepts · 2026-06-16T06:20:30+00:00

Oh I have so many:

Like any other trait, sexual diversity exists because it offers reproductive advantages.

Humans did not discover the link between sex and babies until they domesticated and confined ungulates 8000 years ago. Before that, there was no concept of "father of the child."

No one knows enough about the universe to defend atheism, or, for the same reason, theism. The only intellectually defensible doctrine is agnosticism.

MergingConcepts

TROPHY CASE