I’m about to invoke the Almighty, so I’ll be careful here. When I refer to God, I am talking about the possible existence of a supreme being or entity, that sees all, knows all, and can do anything at any time. This is not a discourse about whether there is such a thing, rather, if there is, what can it not do?
Various religious beliefs describe such an entity and some actually list what the Almighty cannot, or perhaps more accurately, will not do; for example, the exercise of our free will is something given to us by the Christian God. Although interesting, this is not the subject of this essay. Nor is the challenge that God create a square circle.
During our short time here on Earth we have discovered quite a few wonders. Among these is the central role of probability in the physical world. It was after we delved into the quantum universe that it became apparent that many, if not all, processes are governed by probability. Thus, no action is 100% certain.
For example, take the electron spinning around the nucleus of an atom: although that electron is mostly in an orbit far from the nucleus, there is a calculable probability that it will at times exist in the nucleus. Also, we cannot predict when a single radioactive element will decompose, nor can we tell when exactly the rain storm will arrive.
This issue becomes most apparent when a less than 100% probable event is examined; for instance, the throw of a pair of dice. The dice smack into each other at various random points while being jiggled and then are let go to bounce in a random way until they settle. Very minor differences in the initial conditions make the outcome not difficult to predict, but fundamentally impossible to predict. We can certainly examine a series of throws and generate a statistical prediction of each possible combination of the two dice, but we cannot predict an individual throw. This is mainly because the factors that determine the final result are not possible to measure.
You might argue that if one knew the precise angles and forces each die experienced, then one could predict the outcome. NO. The reason that’s impossible is a question of probability. One can only predict the probability of the outcome for a series of throws, but not the precise outcome of a single throw.
Now we come to God. Since the universe is governed by physical laws that all depend on probability, then it follows that prediction of a specific event or outcome is impossible, and even God will be unable to push back the probability curtain which He presumably created. He might be able to provide a probability, but not a precise prediction.
There remains the possibility that God might cheat, but let’s not go there.
Various religious beliefs describe such an entity and some actually list what the Almighty cannot, or perhaps more accurately, will not do; for example, the exercise of our free will is something given to us by the Christian God. Although interesting, this is not the subject of this essay. Nor is the challenge that God create a square circle.
During our short time here on Earth we have discovered quite a few wonders. Among these is the central role of probability in the physical world. It was after we delved into the quantum universe that it became apparent that many, if not all, processes are governed by probability. Thus, no action is 100% certain.
For example, take the electron spinning around the nucleus of an atom: although that electron is mostly in an orbit far from the nucleus, there is a calculable probability that it will at times exist in the nucleus. Also, we cannot predict when a single radioactive element will decompose, nor can we tell when exactly the rain storm will arrive.
This issue becomes most apparent when a less than 100% probable event is examined; for instance, the throw of a pair of dice. The dice smack into each other at various random points while being jiggled and then are let go to bounce in a random way until they settle. Very minor differences in the initial conditions make the outcome not difficult to predict, but fundamentally impossible to predict. We can certainly examine a series of throws and generate a statistical prediction of each possible combination of the two dice, but we cannot predict an individual throw. This is mainly because the factors that determine the final result are not possible to measure.
You might argue that if one knew the precise angles and forces each die experienced, then one could predict the outcome. NO. The reason that’s impossible is a question of probability. One can only predict the probability of the outcome for a series of throws, but not the precise outcome of a single throw.
Now we come to God. Since the universe is governed by physical laws that all depend on probability, then it follows that prediction of a specific event or outcome is impossible, and even God will be unable to push back the probability curtain which He presumably created. He might be able to provide a probability, but not a precise prediction.
There remains the possibility that God might cheat, but let’s not go there.
