do things happen for a reason?

[Jaguar]

And don't forget the will of the Easter Bunny.

 

[Stanton Moore]

And don't forget the will of the Easter Bunny.

or random chance.

 

[RaptorWizard]

I believe in a contingent universe, that is, I believe the horizon is open and can take any shape, can develop along any path. Evidence for this attitude can be found in relativity and quantum mechanics, where nothing is absolute and is all dependent upon shifting contexts. In essence, whatever you envision, whatever you will to be can spring into being. The mind is free.

 

[Lark]

I believe in a contingent universe, that is, I believe the horizon is open and can take any shape, can develop along any path. Evidence for this attitude can be found in relativity and quantum mechanics, where nothing is absolute and is all dependent upon shifting contexts. In essence, whatever you envision, whatever you will to be can spring into being. The mind is free.

You is raptor wizards.

 

[Typh0n]

I dont like to believe in fate. Its like saying that all your efforts are reduced to nothing.

 

[Infinite Bubble]

On our scale, order and reason is apparent, but on a quantum level there is none that we know of. Out of mass chaos comes organization and the linearity we see, but on the most minute of scales, randomness in its purest form exists. And of course the universe burst into existence on a quantum level, and as such needs no prior reason.

I should also add that reason and meaning are two separate concepts. I have asked people the question before and some think it asks if there is a purpose or meaning behind events, rather than simply the event occurring itself. There is probably no meaning behind events as that is a human concept created out of evolution, but there is a reason for them (cause and effect).

 

[Kayness]

I want to believe in it but I don't think I can.

 

[WALMART]

On our scale, order and reason is apparent, but on a quantum level there is none that we know of. Out of mass chaos comes organization and the linearity we see, but on the most minute of scales, randomness in its purest form exists. And of course the universe burst into existence on a quantum level, and as such needs no prior reason.

It has been known for some time that logically the happenings of even the most seemingly random events in quantum mechanics should be able to be tested for and predicted with one hundred percent accuracy. Brian Greene touches on this in one of his earlier works on quantum mechanics, probably The Elegant Universe. I actually found an article analyzing it, here: http://timblaisdell.blogspot.com/2012/04/brian-greenes-mulder-and-scully.html


If I'm not mistaken (having trouble finding the proof), groups of scientists have recently been able to predict with one hundred percent accuracy the happenings of particles at quantic levels that were previously ascribed to being inherently random or probabilistic. Resolving the mystery of randominity is simply the task of understanding at what states varying particles take what actions.


So anyways, yeah... it sucks that that part of quantum physics has been pretty much debunked now, because it is the one facet that engaged me so heavily with the science to begin with.

 

[prplchknz]

Yes, sometimes the reason is not known until after sometimes it's never known but there is a rhyme and reason to everything.

 

[Infinite Bubble]

[MENTION=15886]jontherobot[/MENTION] Unless the uncertainty principle is now obsolete, which I doubt, then the universe still is intrinsically random, in the sense that it is of a probabilistic nature and thus impossible to accurately measure both the position and the speed of particles in the present moment. This is not due to inadequate instruments, but because of its very nature. A particle is considered everywhere at once, each path being taken simultaneously, until it is measured; at which point a single path is 'taken'. How can we still measure this path with 100% certainty if the principle is in place? Nevertheless, It'd be interesting to read that proof.

 

[WALMART]

[MENTION=15886]jontherobot[/MENTION] Unless the uncertainty principle is now obsolete, which I doubt, then the universe still is intrinsically random, in the sense that it is of a probabilistic nature and thus impossible to accurately measure both the position and the speed of particles in the present moment. This is not due to inadequate instruments, but because of its very nature. A particle is considered everywhere at once, each path being taken simultaneously, until it is measured; at which point a single path is 'taken'. How can we still measure this path with 100% certainty if the principle is in place? Nevertheless, It'd be interesting to read that proof.

I'll keep an eye out for the book that details the experiment, I lent it to my sister or something and never got it back. I remember more vividly, they were able to take accurate indirect measurements without collapsing the wave function. It can then be inferred particles inhibit a "true" state without being directly observed, but that is hardly enough proof to overturn the principle I suppose. I looked on newscientist.com and sciencenews.org but couldn't find anything about it.

An aside - I was just thinking about it, I find it funny Greene chose to use Agent Mulder and Scully as his analogous characters, I wonder if it was intentional? Kind of like a "here's why it can't be true, but maybe still possibly - I want to believe"... hm.

 

[PrettyWoman]

How do you feel about fate?

Duh... I believe in the beauty of mathematical models and laws and don't think anything is random. Even random isn't random really. Chaos is not what it looks like. I think 'fate' contains way too negative overtone but I do think that things happen for a reason and also in association to each other. What happens now is just one link connecting what has happened and what will happen. What once happened determined what is happening now and that further determines what will happen next. Once the first deed was chosen and done, there was no turning back. Note: a deed could also include not choosing to do anything.

 

[WALMART]

Duh... I believe in the beauty of mathematical models and laws and don't think anything is random. Even random isn't random really. Chaos is not what it looks like. I think 'fate' contains way too negative overtone but I do think that things happen for a reason and also in association to each other. What happens now is just one link connecting what has happened and what will happen. What once happened determined what is happening now and that further determines what will happen next. Once the first deed was chosen and done, there was no turning back. Note: a deed could also include not choosing to do anything.

"If you choose not to decide you still have made a choice"




So are all things not yet past already queued up to happen?

Sigh, I'll never know the answers.

 

[Galena]

As I see it, any "reason" for something that happens comes only from within the person who interpreted it. They might psychologically get something out of their interpretation, though. I do it sometimes, when it's to my inner benefit.

 

[Such Irony]

Yes, I think there is a reason for everything. Sometimes it's beyond our understanding at the moment or we may not have the tools yet to explain certain scientific phenomenon. The reason is there even if we haven't realized it yet.

 

[Society]

I would consider myself logical. I would like to state that irrationality is not commonplace in my worldview.


However, especially the older I am becoming, I cannot shake the feeling that things are happening for a reason.

My logical self states I am forming connections only where reality substantiates thought, but I cannot help but feel something metaphysical is at play. Coincidences too firm to be mere chance... or is Ne playing a dirty trick on me?




How do you feel about fate?

we are wired to make the best of any situation (those who weren't died out), so when things happen we find meaning and utility in them. we are also social creatures with a need for affirmation, so to justify it, our minds fall to the habit of thinking things happened in order for us to gain the meaning and utility within them. as a result, we learn to expect it, and habitually expect to find meaning and utility in things that are not in our control.

if there is a higher plan, chances are, it doesn't revolve around anything that would be particularly meaningful for us, since...

 

[kyuuei]

I believe we have all the power we need to overcome whatever we face in this world--even if things are fated for one thing, we can overcome that. Fate is not a dictator to life--more of an auto-pilot.

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

For the record, it was the chicken.

 

[Society]

For the record, it was the chicken.

well aren't single cell organsims sort of both the chicken and the egg?

 

[kyuuei]

well aren't single cell organsims sort of both the chicken and the egg?

Speaking from a it-doesn't-matter-what-sort-of-theory-you-believe perspective, there is an enzyme the chicken produces that makes the actual egg shell and allows the egg shell to harden and protect the life inside.. so whatever evolved/got created into what will be known as the common chicken, it is required that it exists in order to produce an actual egg.

/completely off topic rant

 

[prplchknz]

For the record, it was the chicken.

damn straight i was first