“It is not easy being a human being!” whispered Science. Finally it seemed to have dawn on him how confusing everything must sound to man. “Until understanding dawns, it sure must look very very complex to live life on earth. To top it all, not everybody understands the same things. Reconciling even two different perspectives is so difficult. Then what about the millions of thought processes, zillions of emotions… Naturally the Lord had smiled when he, Science, had suggested a one-size-fits-all description of God!” There was a lot that Science could really do to help. But he needed some more clarity on certain aspects before he could convince humanity.
Science: Father! I don’t think I fully understand if the universe is deterministic or has free will!
God: Hmmm… Why am I not surprised? Let me walk you through this, shall I?
Science: Yes Father. This whole thing of choice is very difficult to comprehend. for instance, it looks like humanity does have free will – they do get to choose their options. And yet, there are such rigid laws of existence, that it is almost like everything to the last atom is pre-programmed! It does raise questions that perhaps choice and free will are simply the active imagination of mankind and not a reality.
God: (Smiling) If that were so, even that imagination is pre-programmed!!
Science: The whole thing is so paradoxical. Lord, consider this statement – ‘Thiss sentence contains threee errors.’ Now this looks simple. But when you take a closer look you find there are only two errors – an extra ’s’ and an extra ‘e’. So you would think that this statement is false, right? But No! When you read again you find that indeed there is a third error – namely an error in counting its own errors. Therefore you would agree that the errors are (1) an extra ’s’ (2) an extra ‘e’ and (3) an error in counting its errors. But if you realise that you would also realise that it now has correctly counted its errors as three and therefore the so-called third error is after all not an error. Therefore the sentence contains only two errors – an extra ’s’ and an extra ‘e’… Back to square ‘A’. This is an example of a typical paradox. And this is exactly how man feels about his choices! Before he makes one, he thinks he is executing a choice. But the outcome is not what he thought it would be. So he decides this is the way it is fated. But again he cannot simply wait. he has to make a fresh choice knowing fully well that his choice may have no direct control on the outcome.
God: My dear, I understand! Why don’t we discuss specifics? That ought to give greater clarity than general rules.
Science: Simple Father! Mankind believes there are specific rules that govern this universe. And yet he is bestowed with a choice at every moment that actually helps determine this universe. The uncertainty principle has revealed this much to man that his very interaction with the world changes the world. That would imply that man ia a participant in this whole exercise of existence. But despite all these theories, in daily living, man does realise that his participation is limited to a few choices that don’t ultimately guarantee the desired result. In fact there are those who, because the result is not guaranteed, believe even the choice is never theirs to make. I think man needs to know up to what point he has freewill and when exactly does the deterministic laws take over!
God: Spoken true to your nature Science! Let us start where we left off while discussing the ‘infinite’ Gods, shall we? I did say that everything including the last atom exists in me. I did say, this thumb shall not move without me. Which means, every outcome does already exist in me. In that way, the universe is most certainly deterministic – there is a specific order to existence.
Science: What then is the choice man makes?
God: Remember that incident in the story of Harry Potter? As a victim Harry finds himself almost dying to the power of the ‘dementors’ sucking his life force. He is saved when he finds his dead ‘father’ appear to cast a spell chasing the dementors away. Returning to that same moment in time using magic, Harry watches himself being attacked by the dementors and waits for his father to arrive and save him. But his father is nowhere in sight. So the revisiting Harry at the precise moment casts the spell to save his earlier existence. When his friend asks him how he knew such a spell, Harry smiles to reply, ‘I don’t know the spell. But I know I am saved.’
Science: You have lost my logic. Are you saying the outcome of every action is already determined? It is all already there and we are just to reach out? Then what exactly are men choosing? And how does one even know what exactly to choose?
God: Remember that equation we spoke about? x2 + y2 = z2. Now if I said z2 = 25, everyone will be able to find the value of x, y and z. Right?
Science: Yes Father! We can. When z2 = 25, z = 5 and x, y will be 3 and 4. That is x could 3 or 4 and y depending on x would be the other.
God: Hmmm… If I said x = 3, does that imply y will be 4 and z will be 5?
Science: No Father. It does not. When we have the answer, it is easy to determine the values of the variables in the equation. But when only one variable in the equation is given, the answer cannot be determined without knowing the other variables.
God: Yes my child. Very often, this is where man gets confused. he has achieved a particular result. he views his past options and thinks because he chose x to be 3, he arrived as z = 5. He has forgotten that ‘y’ is not in his control. Now he repeats himself assuming that he would get the same result. But everything has changed. y is no longer 4.
Science: (Reflectively) So you mean to say there is no point in repeating something based on past choices.
God: Yes! That choice is over. Now even if the situation looks the same, he needs to choose all over again. It is very simple my dear. Let us take a relationship to be an equation.
x + y = z. Man decides that as x is he would give a value of 50 to this equation. He assumes that when y gives 50, the result will be a hundred. But there is no guarantee that y values 50. Now he has a choice.
Science: I get it! Perhaps he realises y = -20. So he decides that he will make his x = 120 to get his desired result of z =100. In other words, in every equation he only gets to decide
x = ?
God: Yes! He has no choice on what the other variables will be. But most certainly the value he attributes to himself as the variable x can and will alter the outcome of the equation! There are two areas where he can execute his choice.
Science: One is the value of x. What is the other?
God: How important that x is in the equation! In a huge equation with several variables, even though the value of x can change the equation, the impact will be minimal. On the contrary, if the x has an exponential value? The entire equation may tilt towards the value of x.
Science: In other words, not only does his choice have bearing, he has to ensure that his choice is important enough to really make a difference.
God: Exactly. One man being thrown out of a railway compartment cannot, by itself, make a large difference to society. However, when that man happens to be a Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, who is willing to become a Mahatma Gandhi, it can change the way the whole of humanity functions. So man does have freewill. To use a computer jargon, the choices he makes are his interface to connect to the source code. Based on his choice, existence unfolds. Based on the exponential value of that variable, the impact on the entire equation changes.
Science: But Lord! You said the outcome is already predetermined?
God: I meant that ‘all’ outcomes already exist in an unmanifest way. You can neither create, nor destroy matter or energy. You can only convert them> Do you remember the words of Raymond M.Smullyan in his essay ‘Is God a Taoist?’
Science: “Your acts are certainly in accordance with the laws of nature, but to say they are determined by the laws of nature creates a totally misleading psychological image which is that your will could somehow be in conflict with the law of nature and that the latter is somehow more powerful than you, and could ‘determine’ your acts whether you liked it or not. But it is simply impossible for your will to ever conflict with natural law. You and natural law are really one and the same… As Goethe very beautifully expressed it, ‘In trying to oppose Nature, we are, in the very process of doing so, acting according to the laws of nature’!”
God: My dear, the so-called ‘laws of nature’ are nothing more than a description of how everything functions. They are merely a description of how it works, not a prescription of how it should act, not a power or force which compels or determines the actions. Every law of nature, as revealed by the quantum theory, takes into account how, in fact, you choose to act.
Science: (Almost in a whisper) Lord! Are you trying to tell me that freewill and determinism are actually the same?
God: When you can choose x = ?, you have the freewill to execute that variable. When you understand the impact of the other variables, you begin to understand the whole equation. Now you call it a deterministic law. But your choice was never outside the realm of the law! And the law is not true if it doesn’t accommodate your choice. Freewill and determinism are two sides of the same coin my dear. You get to fill x = ? choosing your option, and the law accommodates that to present a deterministic result that was not created by man, but chosen by him. Just ask man to ensure that he fills this right every time: x = ?
Written by Gita Krishna Raj | Published in infinithoughts in May 2011
When Science met God… | Segment Seven: Formula to Life | Chapter Six: x=?
