(October 5, 2010 at 3:56 pm)EvidenceVsFaith Wrote: If, the non-quantum is deterministic, then the quantum can only be indeterministic as in "unpredictable by science"? We are discussing one universe. The laws in it cannot contradict.
No, it can be indeterministic as in intrinsically random, however the actual probabilities fall into regions that can lead to entirely predictable classical determinism. Your neuron and chemical systems are too large to be effected by indeterminacy, the effects literally wash out at larger scales and when considering the entire object the larger it gets the higher the chances of it complying exactly as causally determined .
There is no contradiction, the effects of indeterminacy even out at larger scales and have no impact on the pathways of objects of a certain size. There is no change of indeterminacy effecting the trajectory of a baseball in motion or the journey of a neurochemical on a synaptic pathway, because the overwhelming number of quantum events average out into an extremely specific and determined position and momentum.
It's the same principle with radiometric dating, the chances of decay on average are 1 in 10^x/t . If X is 10 and t is 1 hour it means that on average in a group of 10^10 particles 1 will decay per hour, but there will be decays that happen proportionally to the mean, a very very small number may decay in 1x10^1/t or 1X10^20/t but the average will be determinable with 100% accuracy, and you will get as a fact a decay rate of 1/10^10/t.
So systems of a certain size become gradually more determined up to the point where the object is a size where mdv>h and from that point there is no indeterminacy at all.
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