Chapter 9

Free will: decide now pay later

Whatsoever thing ye may ask the Father in my name, which is good, in faith believing that ye shall receive, behold, it shall be done unto you. Moroni 7:12, The Book of Mormon

Is the future predetermined?

We may determine the future position of one planet with respect to another using basic Newtonian mechanics; deduce that night will follow day from experience; or know with a degree of certainty that we shall keep an appointment tomorrow through our will. It appears then, that we can determine the future, at least to some extent, but does that mean that the future is predetermined? Our ability to predict and forecast far off events in more complex systems like a nation or world of people is testimony to our intellectual capacity rather than the degree to which the future is predetermined. That said, it is important to note that this intellectual capacity of ours to predict future events is exercised within the laws of the physics we know. We have already encountered the fact that all physical theory is mere approximation of nature’s underlying reality. Are there some yet to be discovered physical laws that, if we were aware of, we could with absolute certainty predict the entire future of a system as complex as the Universe itself? To know precisely the path of any individual human life from birth to death would unequivocally stamp the Universe as predetermined; at least our corner of it anyway. What if anything has this to do with the real nature of time? In part, it depends upon the interpretation of reality to which you subscribe. In Newton’s clockwork Universe, cause and effect are mathematically charted on the blackboard of absolute time’s inexorable flow into the future. Believing in the absolute authority of Newtonian mechanics one may postulate that the Universe is absolutely predetermined and that we simply have to find ways, perhaps through the discovery of as yet unknown natural laws, of casting the future of the more complex systems. In Einstein’s time, what you see is what you get, but may not necessarily be what I see or what I get; it depends on our relative motions and positions. Might the destiny of an individual differ in relative time compared to absolute time? Definitely yes. If you were able to travel from Earth and back at near light-speed for 5 days in your reference frame, significantly more time will have passed on Earth from my reference frame than the 5 days you perceive.

On your return I will definitely have aged more than you.

To take this philosophical discussion of time, free will and predetermination further, I want you to make a distinction between Newton’s absolute time, Einstein’s relative time and my eternal time. We can clearly see from Newtonian mechanics why one might postulate a predetermined Universe and the desire to search for some missing natural law that would allow the accurate determination of all future events, regardless of complexity. With the introduction and general acceptance of Einstein’s theory of relativity it became clear that Newtonian mechanics is not such a good interpretation of reality, which is seemingly characterized by indeterminacy and thus free will. Whereas Newton postulated absolute time and Einstein relative time, a common feature of both models is that in some way things happen within time. In eternal time, the true reality, nothing happens at all. It is a featureless, limitless infinity, which is unimaginable, for to imagine it would be to limit it. The very use of thought, deed or word to define it ipso facto limits it. It can only be experienced, a feat we are unable to achieve as corporeal beings. Physicists, in their quest for a theory of everything, postulate a real world exceeding the four dimensions we are accustomed to. In doing so, they accept that we may never be able to perceive those dimensions of which we are unaware. Whilst I cannot imagine a contemporary physicist agreeing with me, I understand this development in physical theory to be part of the gradual process of physics’ progress towards the uncomfortable realization that eternity is the true reality. Free will and predetermination, then, presume a direction in which life, the Universe and everything is heading. Thus, both propositions are by definition, subject to linear time and concern the flow of information into the future. Proponents of free will believe that the flow is directed willfully, uninhibited by cosmic order, whilst proponents of predetermination believe in cosmic fatalism: ‘what will be will be’. Once the initial conditions of the Universe are set (whether by God or by chance) they assume a course that is unalterable even by the Agent that set them in motion. Both philosophies, whilst compelling, are illusions of linear time. Real time does not flow and information does not flow in time, rather all information permeates all of time eternally now.

Free will, predetermination & chaos

Chaos theory’s influence in astronomy, biology, climatology, ecology, economics and other fields is ever growing. The popularity of Chaos arises out of its ability to predict the unpredictable: stock markets, atmospheric disorder, wildlife populations and so on. It convincingly tackles disorder, which hitherto science has been inept at mastering. A name inextricably linked with chaos theory is that of Benoit Mandelbrot who discovered that variation across scales was not arbitrary but followed rules, with fractals – the fractional dimensions of a thing – repeating in smaller and smaller scales into infinity. A coastline would be a good example. What from a human’s eye view may seem a straight path would be a winding jagged path to an ant, and what to the ant might be a straight path would to a bacterium, seem a winding jagged path and so on into infinity. The information content of the whole is replicated in each of the smaller scales. James Gleick eloquently describes Mandelbrot’s discovery in his paradigm-shifting book, Chaos:
Every new molecule would be surrounded by its own spiral and flame like projections, and those, inevitably, would reveal molecules tinier still, always similar, never identical, fulfilling some mandate of infinite variety, a miracle of miniaturization in which every new detail was sure to be a Universe of its own, diverse and entire.

It is reasonable to suggest that if this holds for shapes and patterns in nature, then it must necessarily hold for the underlying information fabric of nature from which the physical shapes and patterns emerge. It is all too easy to scoff at the conclusions obtained from fractal geometry. From our perspective (somewhere between the absurdly large and the absurdly small) we cannot uncover the fundamental truths about fractals as they apply to ‘real’ things in nature. Nevertheless, let’s embrace Einstein’s belief that imagination is more important than knowledge by conducting another thought experiment in which we are a sub-atomic particle imbued with intelligence, i.e., consciousness; the fundamental stuff of the Universe. As an intelligent sub-atomic particle we face the same conundrums as our human counterparts: From where, what and how was the Universe created? Why was it created? What is my purpose in the Universe? And so on. Around us we observe harmony and order, which traditionally we have attributed to some deity, a deity responsible for the very creation of life. Notwithstanding this tradition, we conduct scientific experimentation and discover that larger material bodies, which we call cells, are moving rapidly away from each other. Thus, our findings suggest that we inhabit a Universe which has probably expanded from a big bang singularity. Many eons pass and further experimentation shows that the cells’ acceleration away from each other is gradually but definitely slowing down, and seems likely to eventually cause the Universe to contract towards a big crunch singularity. A really smart sub-atomic particle named Stella Nebula develops a theory postulating a phenomenon for which she coins the term black hole. It is infinitely dense and has a singularity at its center. Though highly speculative, Ms. Nebula’s equations prove that we inhabit but one of many universes, that ‘baby’ universes are being born all the time and that falling into a black hole will transport an object into another universe via what she calls a wormhole. Unfortunately her claims can never be satisfactorily verified. The most intelligent of the sub-atomic particles can never grasp the whole truth of their place in the great scheme of things, for they are truly trapped within their Universe. They will never know that their Universe’s expansion from a singularity is the creation of life that their human counterparts call conception, and that their wormhole portal to another universe occurs through copulation, which is the catalyst for each new baby universe! Are these sub-atomic particles and cells not consciousness within a living organism (universe) that resides within another and so on a lá fractals? As I explained towards the end of chapter 5, a quantum of time holds the same amount of information as eternity itself. If an object in a chaotic system repeats itself we may pinpoint where it will be at some future point in linear time, provided we have the capacity to decipher the apparently chaotic pattern that it obeys. If we are able to do this for all phenomena in the most chaotic system that we know of, the Universe, then the future can be known. Whilst accounting for the large number of tangible variables like planets and the large number of intangible variables like thoughts would be a gargantuan task, it does not render the task impossible. Research conducted by psychologist Richard Heath (whom at the time of writing is at the University of Sunderland in the United Kingdom) suggests that some people are capable of predicting patterns inherent in chaotic systems. As wild as it may seem, unpredictability may be a symptom of our ignorance. When patterns in a chaotic system repeat, they do so in a ‘phase space’. The phase space of a chaotic system can be described as the dimensions or variables in its behavior. An ‘attractor’ - a point, region or other phenomenon - will exert influence on the system. An example of a simple system would be a pendulum, in which the region of its swing would be its phase space and gravity its attractor. Free will is well defined in Napoleon Hill’s famous quotation: Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe can be achieved.

If this is true it is so only from a linear time perspective, which in any case is all we have as corporeal beings. It is my belief that the creative faculty selects from an infinity of choices resident in what I call eternity, but what physics may wish to call many worlds. If you like, all possibilities coexist in superposition until we make a choice, at which time the wave function collapses and we create the circumstances of our lives. The very expression of free will then is decision making with conviction.

Free will & purposeful being

From our linear time perspective, all of life is evolving towards the eternal, in which sense it is moving towards a destiny that is predetermined. Yet, within this predetermined evolution we appear to have choice. “Should I wear red socks or white, become a doctor or dentist, drive a Mercedes or Chevrolet, vote republican or democrat, have children or not?” All of our choices are limited to things, under which heading I include the most cherished of possessions, ideas. It is common for us to regard the ownership of ideas as separate from and above the ownership of material wealth; that is until we are pressed to choose between them. A million dollars in the bank are worth more than as many ideas out there in the ether! But, it would be wise to remember that all physical desires are fulfilled from ideas. We each are our own chaotic system. Our behavior is the material manifestation of the chaotic system that we are. Our purpose acts as the system’s attractor and our phase space the parameters. Both purpose and parameters are discovered through the persistent challenge of life. By making decisions we may direct the course of our lives, but only within our personal phase space. At first, it may seem that our phase space (or sphere of influence) prevents us from being all that we can be, since we cannot operate outside of it. However, it is an enabler, a guidance system that keeps us on track. Our purpose is specific and must be played out within the phase space. Another way of looking at this is that being our best selves has to be consistent with the physical manifestation that we are of the primordial consciousness we represent. Each person’s purpose is to be the best, most abundant individual that he or she can become. Best means the fulfillment of our potential. The choices that we make will determine the outcome of our lives. Though we all come from the same consciousness stuff we are not all the same. In our linear time Maya, asymmetry is the law. Achievement, therefore, is always gauged by a comparison of where one’s development is with where it ought to be—a subjective measure—and never compared with where one is against someone else. Re-using the numerical example of symmetry from chapter 6, under the same heading, if 210 represents primordial symmetry and we are the number 7, there is no point in attempting to live our lives as a 3 or a 10. The expression of our free will and, therefore, destiny in linear time is within the confines of the number 7, which is no better or worse than any other number. It is completely unique and cannot be compared with any other number. A fish is unable to express its free will as abundantly as you or me. The key component of free will is imagination, the creative faculty. The implementation of a thought into actions creates change, leading to a different chain of events than would otherwise have unfolded had the thought not been expressed. When Einstein thought relativity into existence it changed the world forever. Yet, he only acted within his personal phase space. The point is that individual phase spaces are overlapping. Not acting upon the thought keeps its effects within the thinkers phase space. Acting upon the thought, that is expressing ones free will, creates a chain of events that can extend well beyond the instigators personal phase space. Thus, each individual has the free will to change the destiny of the world. The power of free will should not be underestimated. What we decide today has to be paid for by future generations whose initial conditions are thus determined by their forebears somewhat haplessly in the main. The ultimate expression of free will is the acceptance that things are the way they are without forfeiting the right, the desire or the ability to change the things that are within our phase space. In overcoming the delusion that linear time is the ultimate reality, we may then fall prey to the delusion that we cannot affect and effect our lot in linear time. I prefer to live out my deluded corporeal existence in happiness and abundance compared to sadness and poverty. Somebody once said that decision-making can either be the power to create or the power to destroy. Exercise your free will and choose which it is to be for you.

Chance: a measure of ignorance

Chance and probability are a measure of our ignorance. Let us imagine that a terrorist plants a bomb in one of a million houses in a particular city. What is the chance or probability that the bomb will be planted in any one of those houses? Conventionally we would say one in a million. In reality it is either 1 or 0. The bomb is either in a given house or it is not. That we do not know which house it is in is a measure of our ignorance; thus our ignorance is statistically defined in the probability one in a million. We have a one in a million chance of being right, or a 999,999 in a million chance of being wrong. It doesn’t even matter if the terrorist is still only contemplating in which house to plant the bomb. We may increase or decrease the chances of being right by adding or subtracting a relevant variable. A frightened John may decide to leave the city encouraging the terrorist not to bomb his house as to do so will have a lesser impact than to bomb an occupied house. A bold Mary may decide to build a house in the city of her dreams regardless of the terrorist threat, which she regards as negligible. Probability and chance then, are further illusions of linear time. They do, however, play an important role in our lives. We use this method of scientific guesswork to plan the future. In other words when expressing our free will we account for various probabilities. To impress his girlfriend, Billy may risk driving the car his parents have just bought for his 16th birthday despite not having a driving license. He may assess the risk of being pulled by the police as slim enough to take the risk. This is the only way we can live in a linear existence. We do not know how events will pan out so we endeavor to minimize the pain of making bad decisions. After all, our lives may depend on it. Weighing probabilities is not exclusive to humans. An antelope will risk being attacked by a lion to drink from an isolated lake if its thirst is sufficiently great. Whilst chance and probability are illusory, there is a power attached to prediction. When we predict a certain outcome, we think about how we do or don’t want things to transpire. Thinking stimulates the creative faculty. Through thinking, the creative faculty interacts with primordial consciousness to give us the circumstances of our lives. Life is a self-fulfilling prophesy within the confines of ones phase space. Be careful what you dwell upon for it will manifest in your life, perhaps when you least expect it to. Billy will impress his girlfriend by driving his new car now but may have to pay for it later.

Quantum mechanics: the science of ignorance

Quantum mechanics is the science of probabilities and thus, the science of ignorance. In the quantum world nothing can be taken for granted. Everything is probabilistic. For instance, there is a probability, though strikingly small, that a closed system may contravene the 2nd law of thermodynamics, with scrambled eggs unscrambling back into their shells. The history of a system does not allow us to make exact predictions. Enough information may be gathered to make a statistical prediction about the probability of a future event. Einstein, among others, regarded this situation as unsatisfactory, a fundamental flaw in our understanding of quantum processes. Perhaps, perhaps not. The macroscopic linear time world does not seem to be deterministic, so why should the quantum world be deterministic? If it were, one might reasonably expect the macroscopic world to be so as it is composed of the quantum. Presently, the most reasonable interpretation we can apply to action at a distance is that information is instantaneously communicated from one quantum particle to its entangled twin. Is it an intelligent action, an expression of free will? It certainly cannot be likened to the inorganic intelligence of a computer network, if only because the intelligence displayed by the entangled pair has not been programmed by a human. The entangled pair emanate from primordial consciousness just like everything else in the Universe, and as such are capable of drawing upon it in the same way that we are.