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ENTROPIC COGITATIONS

One day, all you will be worth is the price of dirt, and your words will be all
you leave behind.
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SCHRÖDINGER’S CAT AND FREE WILL

Posted on June 4, 2012 by hash

It’s been a while since I wrote a blog post as I too have become a slave to the
Twitter/Facebook phenomenon. But I didn’t think either of those forums would do
this topic justice.

I was at dinner the other night with my wife and her piano student and we were
discussing the topics of predestination and free will.  This post is NOT about
Calvinism or Arminianism. There’s plenty of fodder on the internet about that
subject. This post is more a thought experiment with some presuppositions.

One of the hardest things to reconcile about Man’s free will is the concept of
an Omnipotent and Omniscient  God, and that the foreknowledge of man’s intended
actions is an inherent contradiction to Man’s choices. The easiest argument in
favor of that concept is that just because God knows what you are about to do,
doesn’t mean you don’t have free will to do whatever you choose.

Here is where the concept of Schrödinger’s cat comes in for me. If you are
unfamiliar with this thought experiment or Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle,
just Google it as it would take too long for me to explain here. The uncertainty
principle fits very nicely with the “Free Will” position of humankind. For any
action by man, the “Copenhagen Interpretation” states that the superimposed
states of what a person may or may not do, gets resolved only upon observation.
A simple example of this is the classic last second shot in basketball. We all
watch with bated breath as the seconds tick down. Just prior to the shot there
are multiple superimposed states (waveforms) of what the future could be, which
resolve themselves when the ball leaves the shooters hands. The “what if’s” are
then left for discussion at the water cooler the next morning. But they don’t
exist in any physical reality. In the physical reality, the ball either goes in
the basket or not. Someone wins. Someone loses.

So the choices of Mankind are usually easy to accept. Even carrying out the
consequences to extremes doesn’t seem to impact the biblical aspects of
the sovereignty of God. Chaos theory can explain how even a small action can
have tremendous consequences. A “San” Bushman lights a fire in the Sahara, and a
month later hurricane Katrina devastates south eastern United States causing
untold suffering. An unintended consequence of an action by choice. This
philosophical thought experiment has been played out by many. What if Hitlers
mother decided to have an abortion? One sin that could have saved 6 million of
God’s chosen people? “Free Will” – people say – a kind of christian way of
saying “tough luck – that the way the chips fall”. Human choices. Human
consequences.

There are many examples in the Bible where God influences the actions of Man.
Exodus 9:12 comes to mind where the Lord “hardened” Pharaoh’s heart and he
wouldn’t let the people go. But one can say it was still the Pharaoh’s choice.
And it had human consequences. But the question becomes much dicier if you
impose certain biblical absolutes on this.

The biblical presupposition (and I am speaking purely as a run of the mill
Christian) is that Man fell into sin due to the “Original Sin” and that Jesus
had to die on the cross for our salvation. Now examine Jesus’ death on the
cross. That was carried out through the action of men that had free will. Now
what if they had exercised that free will and chosen NOT to crucify Jesus? At
that moment, what if they all accepted Jesus as the Messiah? Does the entire
story of salvation then fall apart? The lay person would respond saying that it
couldn’t happen that way because Jesus knew they would crucify him. To me, THAT
is then a contradiction in terms. If someone HAD to crucify Jesus, and it was
conditionally imposed by God, then it could NOT have been the result of actions
based on free will.

Back to Quantum physics. Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle states that prior to
Jesus being crucified, there was a probability equation that existed that
included Jesus not being crucified. And at one point the probability was pretty
high that Jesus would not be crucified by the Romans, as they didn’t find him
guilty of anything. Remember that Pilate found “No Fault” in Jesus.   It was
only after he was handed over to the crowds that the probability equation
changed.

So if free will is described by quantum states, there had to have existed a
quantum state in which Jesus was NOT crucified. This poses a big problem because
in that quantum state everyone past and present – those looking forward to Jesus
and those who were supposed to to be saved after Jesus’ crucifixion had just
lost their salvation!



 

Let’s take another example. The example of original sin. Consider some of the
various Quantum states based on free will of Adam and Eve.



So this now presents an interesting conundrum. We have multiple quantum states
with distinct probability equations, which theoretically do not appear to
collapse into the the Salvation by Jesus’ Crucifixion equation. So how do we go
about resolving the biblical presupposition which in Christianity is an
absolute. Yes, one can argue there are no absolutes in Quantum Physics, just
probabilities with the only stipulation that the product of the standard
deviations be a constant – Reduced Planck’s constant.



But I started with a “presupposition”, which by definition entails that
salvation through Christ is an absolute. To use the probability equation would
be a Quantum “cop out”. One cannot look to the Bible for the solution because
the Bible by definition only exists in ONE of these quantum states. But one can
look to the Bible for the “nature” of God. By example, one notices that in the
Bible, God never gives Mankind a catch 22 situation.  There is always an “out”
as they say. In Genesis 18, God reduces the “required” righteous people from 50
to 45 to 40 to 30 to 20 to 10! to keep Sodom from being destroyed. Romans 1,
19-20 talks about knowing God through his creation even if one has never heard
the Gospel. So what is the out?

Back to Quantum Mechanics. Instead of the Copenhagen Interpretation to the
Schrödinger’s paradox, let’s use the Many Worlds interpretation. In this
interpretation, every event is a branch point. The different equations of state
are branches to different universes just like branches in a tree, but with the
Quantum Stipulation that they cannot interact with each other. If we take into
account every choice that every man woman and child has made, every millisecond
of the day since Adam, the probability equations would be mind boggling. But the
number would still be FINITE. And for an Omniscient God, any finite number no
matter how large would be easily discernable.



 

That is how God can “know” every choice that you and I would make but still
leave it as free choice. It’s simply a matter of knowing the probability. The
other “advantage” God has is that God is the only observer that will not
influence the outcome of an event by observation. This is because God doesn’t
have to “observe”. He just has to calculate all the probability equations. Every
single one of them. In simple terms God CAN know the momentum AND the position
of any particle at the same time.

And what about the branches that lie outside the “Salvation through Jesus”
equation? The “nature” of God revealed in the Bible shows that God always gives
us a way back to him. We cannot know what form Salvation would take had Jesus
NOT been crucified, or had Eve been the only one that ate the forbidden fruit –
because quantum mechanics prohibits communication between branches. But just as
mankind’s choices in a single branch, if we take all the Quantum states since
the beginning of time, all the branches no matter how numerous, are still finite
when it comes to an Omniscient God. They are only infinite to us mere mortals.
God is then able to provide a manner of salvation for each branch without ever
interfering with free will.

I guess my first question when I finally meet my maker then has to be – “Tell me
Jesus, was the Cat really dead or alive?”

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


9 YEARS AGO

Posted on September 11, 2010 by hash

Nine years ago our world changed forever.

And the next morning, all one heard in the eerie silence was the sound of active
PASS devices still chirping away amidst the rubble. For a firefighter, that is
the most heartbreaking sound you can hear.

My wife and I still can’t watch a 9/11 documentary without tears in our eyes.  I
dare say that is the way it should be.

Never Forget this day.
It is your solemn duty to remember.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


CREED

Posted on July 8, 2010 by hash

I first heard this on a Podcast by Ravi Zacharias.  Don’t stop till you read it
all the way down.

Creed
by Steve Turner

We believe in Marxfreudanddarwin
We believe everything is OK
as long as you don’t hurt anyone
to the best of your definition of hurt,
and to the best of your knowledge.

We believe in sex before, during, and after marriage.
We believe in the therapy of sin.
We believe that adultery is fun.
We believe that sodomy’s OK.
We believe that taboos are taboo.

We believe that everything’s getting better
despite evidence to the contrary.
The evidence must be investigated
And you can prove anything with evidence.

We believe there’s something in horoscopes
UFO’s and bent spoons.
Jesus was a good man just like Buddha,
Mohammed, and ourselves.
He was a good moral teacher though we think
His good morals were bad.

We believe that all religions are basically the same-
at least the one that we read was.
They all believe in love and goodness.
They only differ on matters of creation,
sin, heaven, hell, God, and salvation.

We believe that after death comes the Nothing
Because when you ask the dead what happens
they say nothing.
If death is not the end, if the dead have lied, then its
compulsory heaven for all
excepting perhaps
Hitler, Stalin, and Genghis Khan

We believe in Masters and Johnson
What’s selected is average.
What’s average is normal.
What’s normal is good.

We believe in total disarmament.
We believe there are direct links between warfare and bloodshed.
Americans should beat their guns into tractors .
And the Russians would be sure to follow.

We believe that man is essentially good.
It’s only his behavior that lets him down.
This is the fault of society.
Society is the fault of conditions.
Conditions are the fault of society.

We believe that each man must find the truth that is right for him.
Reality will adapt accordingly.
The universe will readjust.
History will alter.
We believe that there is no absolute truth
except the truth
that there is no absolute truth.

We believe in the rejection of creeds,
And the flowering of individual thought.

If chance be the Father of all flesh,
disaster is his rainbow in the sky
and when you hear

State of Emergency!
Sniper Kills Ten!
Troops on Rampage!
Whites go Looting!
Bomb Blasts School!
It is but the sound of man
worshiping his maker.

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BEYOND CRAZY

Posted on June 13, 2010 by hash

OK. I know Rob Enderle is an Apple Hating, Microsoft Shilling, ego maniacal, tin
foil wearing nut. But this latest piece takes crazy to a whole another level.
If you are unfamiliar with his other classically crazy pieces, just Google his
name. But this stuff is beyond crazy. To paraphrase the Macalope, this guy works
in “crazy” like artists work in pastels or water colors! I sincerely hope he
gets sued by Robbie Bach or someone from Microsoft for Libel – for insinuating
that they are Apple “double agents” inside Microsoft. Of course, that would be
the ultimate irony.  Note to Enderle: Please stay on your meds dude.  What
bothers me is that people still go to him for quotes from an “analyst”.  
Sheesh.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


MEMORIAL DAY 2010

Posted on May 31, 2010 by hash

They sacrifice every day so we may live to be free.

Please take some time to remember our fallen soldiers this weekend.  And if you
have Children/Grandchildren, remind them too.




I know I always put this same poem up every Memorial Day. But that is what
“remembering” is about. So as long as I can keep posting I will.

In Flanders Fields

– John McCrae, May 1915

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead.
Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved,
and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die


We shall not sleep,though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

To those that I have never met but I owe my life and freedom to, I can’t say
anything more than Thank You.

And I promise, I will never forget.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


POST MIGRATION – FIRST IMPRESSIONS

Posted on May 31, 2010 by hash

The migration from Blogger to WordPress is now complete.  This was necessitated
by the fact that Blogger was deprecating FTP publishing.  I tried the migration
tool but didn’t like the way I would have to publish my blog on a sub-domain.  I
decided to bite the bullet and switch to WordPress.  I use cPanel on this domain
and installing WordPress was a snap using Fantastico.  The hard part (for a
little while) was getting my old posts on to WordPress.  I had to eventually
resort to exporting a backup of my blog from blogger and then used an online
tool to convert the file to a WordPress file that I could then import.

The WordPress dashboard is very intuitive and incredibly easy to use.  I was
able to download themes, set my parameters, and configure my settings with
ease.  The (free) WordPress  themes have a crisp and professional look and feel
that I certainly found lacking in blogger.  I am a HUGE Google fan but my First
Impressions of WordPress as a publishing tool have me hooked.

I’m hoping to get back to blogging regularly and I think having easy convenient
software such as WordPress certainly makes it more enticing.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


MIGRATING

Posted on May 30, 2010 by hash

Hi All,

I am migrating from blogger to WordPress.  Hopefully I will be able to get all
my legacy posts back.  Stay tuned.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


SO WHAT’S NEW?

Posted on October 11, 2009 by Harish Venkatachalam

I don’t keep up with my blog anymore. I have often thought if I should just
shelve this blog like my good friend Matt Dattilo did. But I can’t get myself to
do it. The main issue of course is time. It takes time and effort to put
something down on this blog even if it is just typing for a bit. It’s the
organization of thoughts in your brain that takes the longest. And now with the
proliferation programs like twitter and facebook, most of the “impromptu” things
that people write is on these micro-blogging sites.

I guess I will continue to try to write things on this blog. Things that I
believe take more than 140 characters to express. There’s not that many that
read this blog anyway. But it does serve as a reminder to me as to what I was
thinking years ago…

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment


RESISTANCE IS FUTILE

Posted on July 29, 2009 by Harish Venkatachalam
So now it’s official. Microsoft and Yahoo reached a deal today that turns over
all of Yahoo search to Microsoft.



Although it is not the complete takeover of Yahoo!, that will only be a matter
of time. “Bing” now becomes the official search engine of Yahoo, and Yahoo is
supposed to do all the sales stuff. We will see how long THAT lasts. How long
before Yahoo guys realize that Microsoft’s ads on Bing are geared to sell
Microsoft NOT Yahoo?. And the Yahoo sales guys are now forced to use Microsoft’s
AdCenter to do their jobs?

The biggest question no one is asking is what if this doesn’t work out? Yahoo
doesn’t have a choice. It’s not as if in 5 years they can say Sorry and choose
another search provider. They gave ALL of their search algorithms/technology to
Microsoft in this deal. Yahoo is now married to Microsoft for life without
possibility of divorce. All Microsoft has to do is to ditch the Yahoo
sales force and switch back to their own, and Yahoo ceases to exist. For those
who follow “Star Trek – Next generation”, they have now become “assimilated”
with the Borg collective. As much as I hate to say it, I think in a decade Yahoo
will be the next AOL and will die a slow death on the vine. The Microsoft poison
is in their blood and there is nothing they can do about it. Carol Bartz was out
there today gleefully hobnobbing with Ballmer. Trust me, Ms. Bartz, you will one
day look back on this day with regret. Then again Carol unlike Yang is an
outsider. She is not a coder that built a company from scratch. Just a CEO that
worries about shareholder value, so I’m sure she will sleep well at night. And
if that means someday Yahoo ceases to exist, so be it.

Make a deal with the Devil and he will get his due. Embrace, Extend, Extinguish
… It’s the Microsoft way.

Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment


MEMORIAL DAY 2009

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Harish Venkatachalam

They sacrifice every day so we may live to be free.

Please take some time to remember our fallen soldiers this weekend. And if you
have Children/Grandchildren, remind them too.


Photo: Courtesy Arlington National Cemetary





In Loving Memory
– Joanna Fuchs

On every soldier’s tombstone
should be a message of honor, respect and love:
“In loving memory
of one who loved his country,
who fought against evil
to preserve what is right and true and good.
In loving memory
of one who is a cut above the rest of us,
who had the surpassing courage,
the uncommon strength,
to do whatever had to be done,
perservering through hardship and pain.
In loving memory
of one who was brave enough
to give his life, his all,
so that those he cared about
would remain safe and free.
In loving memory
of a unique and treasured soldier
who will never be forgotten.”



To those that I have never met but I owe my life and freedom to, I can’t say
anything more than Thank You.
And I promise, I will never forget.




Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment
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