bobr (08/05/82)
".....sequences are just an order imposed on random events by
human counsciousness...."
(recent submission by Bob Warren (nscs!rew))
I'm tempted to say "yes indeed", although I do not REALLY
understand the consequences of the above statement.
Anyway, in the same vein :
Suppose the world were absolutely deterministic, i.e. we would
be able to forecast in the future - and not just in principle
but in practice.
Would we still have a concept like the "flow of time which always
flows in one direction"?
I'l argue both sides briefly:
YES, we would: irreversible (phenomenological) Thermodynamics is the
prime example here.
NO, we would not: ... since in our present world the distinction between
past and future is based on the difference between
"knowing" and "not knowing" - a difference which would
not exist anymore in our above thought experiment.
My gut feeling decides for the "NO" side.
Cheers,
Christoph Bobrowski
utzoo!utcsrgv!bobr