Some Ideas on How the Universe Works
Topic: Mechanics of the Universe and Space-Time
Introduction:
This will be a work of some of the ideas that I have on how the universe works in regards to time, choice, and the possibility of a higher being. I started developing these ideas in high school, with most of these ideas coming to full fruition my Senior year of high school. This was due to several types of knowledge meeting together, including knowledge in statistics, physics, and history.I was prompted to attempt to explain these ideas again upon taking a class about Da Vinci and the Renaissance and how we are currently in a similar phase of changing ideas of how the world works.
Statistics and Limiting the Probability to Predict the Outcome:
Normally when we look at probability, we tend to see that everything has a particular chance of occurring and that these probabilities are set. For example, a single die has a 1/6th chance of landing on a six. When playing a game involving dice, people will often calculate their chances a set roll using this probability. However, these probabilities are based on only a limited amount of information and make certain assumptions.Lets look at a different example. Let's say that you and a friend are going to an ice cream shop that sells four flavors of ice cream, vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and rainbow sherbet. Normally, if you wanted to guess what flavor your friend would choose, you would say its an even 25% chance that she chooses any specified flavor. But this chance is not entirely the case. Whether she will choose a set flavor or not is in actuality either 0 or 100%. This idea is based off an understanding found in hypothesis testing. In hypothesis testing, you make a conclusion about the population based on a sample with a confidence interval that has a percentage attached to it*.
For example, there is a 99% confidence that the average diameter of an axle is 2.00 mm. The confidence interval itself would be a range, for example, 1.978 mm to 2.012 mm. One would assume that there is a 99% chance that the population mean axle diameter is in this the range 1.978 to 2.012 mm, but that is not the meaning of the 99%. Rather the 99% is an assumption based on the sample data that the mean diameter of 99% of random samples taken of this same population would fall into this range. Rather, the actual mean population is either 100% in this range, or it is 0% in this range, irregardless of the interval size.
This same idea can be applied to statistics in general, and understanding that your friend will choose one flavor for sure and the others will not be chosen. To help us determine the flavor that she will pick, we need to look as these probabilities as not independent from the world, but dependent on everything that happened prior to choosing the ice cream flavor. This requires knowing as much information as physically possible (and impossible) to help determine all of the factors influencing the decision consciously and unconsciously.
Each know factor helps make the probabilities more accurate and the outcome more clear. In this example, you could know that your friend's favorite flavor is chocolate, which would raise chocolate's probability, but then also know that she had chocolate for desert the night prior, had chocolate the last time she was there, likes to try a new flavor each time she goes to the ice cream place, had something sweet for lunch that included berries (you tend to be willing to eat more food if the food is of a different flavor), has not had a sherbet in awhile, is trying to cut down on calories, is slightly lactose intolerant, and that rainbow sherbet was the flavor advertised on the outside of the ice cream shop would make you prone to assume that she would choose sherbet.If you also included other factors that you probably could not know, such as the influence of the various flavors colors, the smell of each ice cream, where the ice cream was located, where the employee was located, where she was located with respect to each flavor and the employee, what she saw first and last, and how these all influenced her decision. Not to mention the temperature outside and inside, her childhood experiences with ice cream, and her temperament and mood at the current time of choosing. As you can see, many factors exist, and this is just a small list of factors that came to my mind, you could come up with even more that may determine her decision. Each factor shifts the probabilities and her ultimate choice. Even a slight advantage in one flavor would result in it being chosen as she would have more reasons to choose that one (and more stronger ones, as not all factors influence a situation the same way). The reason why a slight advantage will result in that choice is because people will always choose what is the most influential option (by influential, I mean logical based on the information that they know or don't know. This includes unconscious effects, such as the color and locations of things ,and emotions. The choice is not random, it is determined by these factors). Through this, it becomes possible to predict the future, as you could probably predict that she would choose the sherbet by now.
Not knowing all of the factors is where probability comes from. We might know 20 factors for a specified issue, and thus create a probability based on what we know, but if we were to know the entire population of factors that went into an outcome, then probabilities would be moot and the end result could be known with 100% certainty. This does not mean the entire population results are known, such as for elections. If we were to know how every single person would vote for the President right now, our final prediction would be wrong as the people's votes would change and some people would not vote. We would need to know all of the starting information as well as what is the changing rate to be able to 100% accurately predict anything. In essence, to predict anything, you must know everything.
Using Factors to Change the Outcome:
What is worth noting is that based on the information covered in the previous section and understanding the probabilities involved and the current choices that will be made, you can change the outcome. Take the ice cream example. If your friend will choose sherbet, but you want her to choose vanilla, all you need is a little more information and to take some actions yourself. If you knew that your friend likes to share ice cream with you and thus tries to always get a different flavor than you. Knowing this, you could choose to get sherbet ice cream yourself, and she wold choose vanilla simply for variety. Offering money, or other such actions might also be effective. Either way, if you know all of the items that influence a decision, then you can decipher how to best add factors to change the decision. This process requires the same understanding of the previous section in that in order to predict an outcome, everything must be known.Time and Particle Movement- Predicting the Future:
All of physics is based on time. The motion of a particle through space is determined by many variables, but these variables can all be summed down to the one independent variable: time. In essence, all of life is movement through space through time. Even other subjects: biology, chemistry, and astronomy are all based on interactions in the particle level and the physics that occurs there. Knowing this, if you could determine the location of every particle in the entire universe and the properties of each basic type of particle and the basic force it would enact on other particles, you could then derive the path of motion for each particle with respect to time. This path would be very complicated if it was truly correct and took in all of the trillions of forces applied on it by every particle out there, but it is possible to find the path of a single particle throughout eternity and by this method, all the particles in existence.Once you know the path of each particle in relation to a single variable, time, you can then use an understanding of how the particle position with relation to other particles affects properties in chemistry, biology, and other sciences to determine everything that will happen. Because certain particles are colliding at a particle point of time, there is a chemical reaction. Because of this chemical reaction is occurring inside a brain, the body attached to the brain reacts to these thoughts and ideas. Because of the action that that particular human body makes, other people and things react in response to it. everything is a reaction to something else, and if you know current location of everything in the space-time continuum, you can determine these reactions and how the future will be carried out.
Think about it this way, if there was a single particle moving in a sealed room with a known starting position and velocity, you could trace its movement for the rest of time using basic physics and calculating the angle at which it would bounce off the walls and the forces present. This idea would work in an enclosed space for a single particle, so this would work by expanding the idea out to any enclosed system of any number of particles, so long as all starting positions and velocities are known. This can be expanded to an open system if and only if the open system includes every particle in existence, and thus is actually closed because no outside particles can interact with the system.
There is one problem with this idea that we humans can predict the future by knowing everything. We can not know everything and there is a limit to our knowledge. Take, for example, knowing the location and velocity of every particle. The Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle states that it is impossible to know both because the very act of measuring such minute details changes the nature of either their velocity or position. In fact, no matter the size of whats being measured, something changes due to the act of measuring, it just might be so minute that it is not noticeable in the moment. Everything is constantly changing, and we simply do not have the methods to keep track of this information. However, this theory still holds true. If one could theoretically have this information, then they will know everything to happen in the future. It could be argued that this is all that a god is, simply a being that knows everything at one moment, and thus knows everything at all other moments. This works with the Big Bang Theory as well, as this being could simply have set the explosion in such a way that the exact future that this being wants will occur. The punishment for an action was set at the same time and both controlled and determined by the same being. Either way, all actions are already determined, and knowing these actions requires knowing everything, which means knowing at at least one point of time, the location and velocity of every particle in existence.
All of History Leads to This Point:
All events and decisions are both an effect and a cause. Each decision causes future decisions to be made. As each decision and choice is based off the information provided to the decision maker at the time, whether consciously or unconsciously, and this information includes data determined by previous decisions, then all choices that we make are based off previous choices. These previous choices are history. All of history caused all current decisions to happen, and thus all of history has lead to this point.
Consider this, if Alexander never took down the Persian Empire, Rome never rose or fell, the Mongols never rose to power, the Americas were never rediscovered (or dominated by Europeans), the Ming and Qing never shut themselves off from outsiders, America never revolted, Napoleon never lost power, Industrialization never set off, WWI never occurred, and if Hitler never rose to power, the world would be much different if even one of these things never occurred, even if the circumstances changed just slightly. I do not see this to mean that history has many paths that could have alternatively occurred as many others do, but rather that history has a very set path with only one possible route and that if one change occurred, this route would be different, but still only one path. Everything that has happened happened because of what happened before. Hitler rose to power only because Rome fell, Napoleon took out half of Europe, and WWI occurred, and in fact, Hitler would never have been born (at least with the exact same genome and life) if anything that occurred prior to his birth was different. If Hitler didn't come to power, WWII would have been different (though something similar might have occurred), and all proceeding events would stray from the route. The fact remains, however, that this is what occurred, Hitler did come to power and everything else before as well. These events were guaranteed to happen because of what occurred prior, and the fact that with the knowledge these people had, their choices were set. Their knowledge is impacted by the movement of particles over time, thus where things are located and when, and the interactions these cause. Since physics can be simplified to be based solely on time, everything is based on time, and history is simply the flow of time over space.
Consider this, if Alexander never took down the Persian Empire, Rome never rose or fell, the Mongols never rose to power, the Americas were never rediscovered (or dominated by Europeans), the Ming and Qing never shut themselves off from outsiders, America never revolted, Napoleon never lost power, Industrialization never set off, WWI never occurred, and if Hitler never rose to power, the world would be much different if even one of these things never occurred, even if the circumstances changed just slightly. I do not see this to mean that history has many paths that could have alternatively occurred as many others do, but rather that history has a very set path with only one possible route and that if one change occurred, this route would be different, but still only one path. Everything that has happened happened because of what happened before. Hitler rose to power only because Rome fell, Napoleon took out half of Europe, and WWI occurred, and in fact, Hitler would never have been born (at least with the exact same genome and life) if anything that occurred prior to his birth was different. If Hitler didn't come to power, WWII would have been different (though something similar might have occurred), and all proceeding events would stray from the route. The fact remains, however, that this is what occurred, Hitler did come to power and everything else before as well. These events were guaranteed to happen because of what occurred prior, and the fact that with the knowledge these people had, their choices were set. Their knowledge is impacted by the movement of particles over time, thus where things are located and when, and the interactions these cause. Since physics can be simplified to be based solely on time, everything is based on time, and history is simply the flow of time over space.
Choice:
People can make choices. There is free will and every single person can make the choice that they think is best for the situation. Every person will act in a way that they believe will benefit them the most. This does not necessarily mean monetary gain all the time, but can also be things like maintaining pride, showing compassion, or helping loved ones. People will act as they believe is best and choose what they determine to be the right choice based on the information available to them at the time. They might not even choose what the consider the best option as other factors be holding them back, such as being nervous, or fearing what consequences may come of that choice even if they want it. Regardless, once all the factors are taken into account, each person will choose what they determine to be the best course of action. People have the free will to make such choices, but the choice that they make is already set.
As discussed in previous sections, the future is already set due to the past conditions, and as such, every decision that any person will make is already determined. We have the free will to make choices, but this choice is already set. As the choice we make is based on the information available to us, and the information available to us is determined by everything that happened prior, everything becomes very linear in its path. We sometimes believe that we could have made a different choice on some regret when we look back at our life, but this is with the information you now know. The decision you made then was based on the information available to you at the time. Now do not be discouraged, for whatever decision you make, it is the right and necessary decision, and the only decision that can lead to the future. Every decision you make is necessary for the future and even one change would change everything. Thus, even if that decision seems so wrong now, the decision is right and allowed the route of history to continue.
Lets take another look at Hitler. Although it might seem like his decisions are not "right" and many people claim that if they could time travel that one thing they would do is kill Hitler, one thing that few of us recognize is that his evil deeds led to the current world we live in and are necessary for it. Because Hitler and his allies attacked so many nations around the world, the world was able to unify against them into a global coalition. The UN and increased international cooperation and trade occurred, and the US became an economic powerhouse. The Great Depression was in large part ended by WWII. Now I am not saying that anything that Hitler did was good and that his intentions were would help humanity, but rather I am saying that the results of Hitler's attempts to conquer the world led to the society we live in today. Most people reading this probably would not have been born, as their parents might not have meet or have been born themselves after the war in the baby boom. Thus, even evil deeds are necessary for us to reach the world we live in today, and any decision made is the right one to led towards the future, whatever that may be.
As discussed in previous sections, the future is already set due to the past conditions, and as such, every decision that any person will make is already determined. We have the free will to make choices, but this choice is already set. As the choice we make is based on the information available to us, and the information available to us is determined by everything that happened prior, everything becomes very linear in its path. We sometimes believe that we could have made a different choice on some regret when we look back at our life, but this is with the information you now know. The decision you made then was based on the information available to you at the time. Now do not be discouraged, for whatever decision you make, it is the right and necessary decision, and the only decision that can lead to the future. Every decision you make is necessary for the future and even one change would change everything. Thus, even if that decision seems so wrong now, the decision is right and allowed the route of history to continue.
Lets take another look at Hitler. Although it might seem like his decisions are not "right" and many people claim that if they could time travel that one thing they would do is kill Hitler, one thing that few of us recognize is that his evil deeds led to the current world we live in and are necessary for it. Because Hitler and his allies attacked so many nations around the world, the world was able to unify against them into a global coalition. The UN and increased international cooperation and trade occurred, and the US became an economic powerhouse. The Great Depression was in large part ended by WWII. Now I am not saying that anything that Hitler did was good and that his intentions were would help humanity, but rather I am saying that the results of Hitler's attempts to conquer the world led to the society we live in today. Most people reading this probably would not have been born, as their parents might not have meet or have been born themselves after the war in the baby boom. Thus, even evil deeds are necessary for us to reach the world we live in today, and any decision made is the right one to led towards the future, whatever that may be.
Can Alternate Universes Exist?
Some people argue that alternate universes exist, either due to alternate choices, or from the fact that the universe is infinite. **
As discussed in the previous sections, there are no alternate choices. Each choice that we make is set by the information we have at the time. Asking a question like "what if *insert event here* was different" and then following a separate timeline, or trying to argue that a separate alternate universe exists for each possible decision that every person could make is false. Each decision you make is set, and any alternate universes to derive from this idea would be fantasy. The universe would need to have at least one physical difference (by this I mean at least one particle in a different place/velocity) at its start. Thus, the only way for alternate universes to exists via this route is if an entire separate cosmos with a separate start (separate big bang) existed in parallel to this one. There is no evidence that such a place exists nor how we would interact with it, and even if one did exist, the idea of it being alternate will be covered with the universe is infinite argument.
Other people argue that alternate universes would exist due to the universe being as large and infinite as it is. Whether this universe would exist inside a black hole or other such phenomena, or just an exact replica of Earth somewhere else in the universe. Even if an exact copy of Earth and the surrounding area existed somewhere in the universe, with the exact copies of each living being doing the exact same thing we are doing now, the fact that eventually, surrounding particles of the limit of what is a copy (and you cannot say everything, as it is clear that this space will have to meet our space eventually, and our space is not a repeating structure. Our entire cosmos is not showing any signs of being a mirror of itself either) would then enter this copied system differently from how the particles surrounding the same area in our system do, thus changing that system. Once one thing changes, everything will change as the particle affects other particles movements. Thus, unless you want to argue that this system was the exact same as Earth in setup for the last 13.7 billion years all the way up to a point that would allow for the change to become noticeable, than this idea of alternate universes is false. The change would most likely occur much sooner, the second the system matches Earth's, it would instantly change. Now you could argue that this is exactly what an alternate universe is all about, but then, how much change is too much change? Can a planet that is like Mars be considered an alternate universe if it once shared characteristics of Earth for a split second? The is too much change in the universe that any alternate Earth would only match our planet for an instant before changing drastically. If you want to argue that even a copy for a second counts as an alternate universe, then I would agree that there might be a copy of Earth that existed for a moment in time, but as for a sustained alternate universe that most people image, this is only a fantasy.
As discussed in the previous sections, there are no alternate choices. Each choice that we make is set by the information we have at the time. Asking a question like "what if *insert event here* was different" and then following a separate timeline, or trying to argue that a separate alternate universe exists for each possible decision that every person could make is false. Each decision you make is set, and any alternate universes to derive from this idea would be fantasy. The universe would need to have at least one physical difference (by this I mean at least one particle in a different place/velocity) at its start. Thus, the only way for alternate universes to exists via this route is if an entire separate cosmos with a separate start (separate big bang) existed in parallel to this one. There is no evidence that such a place exists nor how we would interact with it, and even if one did exist, the idea of it being alternate will be covered with the universe is infinite argument.
Other people argue that alternate universes would exist due to the universe being as large and infinite as it is. Whether this universe would exist inside a black hole or other such phenomena, or just an exact replica of Earth somewhere else in the universe. Even if an exact copy of Earth and the surrounding area existed somewhere in the universe, with the exact copies of each living being doing the exact same thing we are doing now, the fact that eventually, surrounding particles of the limit of what is a copy (and you cannot say everything, as it is clear that this space will have to meet our space eventually, and our space is not a repeating structure. Our entire cosmos is not showing any signs of being a mirror of itself either) would then enter this copied system differently from how the particles surrounding the same area in our system do, thus changing that system. Once one thing changes, everything will change as the particle affects other particles movements. Thus, unless you want to argue that this system was the exact same as Earth in setup for the last 13.7 billion years all the way up to a point that would allow for the change to become noticeable, than this idea of alternate universes is false. The change would most likely occur much sooner, the second the system matches Earth's, it would instantly change. Now you could argue that this is exactly what an alternate universe is all about, but then, how much change is too much change? Can a planet that is like Mars be considered an alternate universe if it once shared characteristics of Earth for a split second? The is too much change in the universe that any alternate Earth would only match our planet for an instant before changing drastically. If you want to argue that even a copy for a second counts as an alternate universe, then I would agree that there might be a copy of Earth that existed for a moment in time, but as for a sustained alternate universe that most people image, this is only a fantasy.
Luck Versus Skill:
I see luck and skill as the same side of the coin. Both are going towards the result, but skill is how much of the result was due to your intentions (conscious or unconscious) and luck is due to what you did not intend. Both are preset by past events, but you decisions and and intentions and how those align with the results is skill. If your intention and subsequent decisions matched the result and helped the result be what you wanted, that is skill. If you had to rely on some unknown information and hope for the best, that is luck. Thus everything, from strategy to rolling dice, is a combination of skill and luck. This only changes if you know everything, then it is all skill, but this is impossible, and thus luck fills in for the unknowns.
Higher Beings- Does something Control the Universe?
Mentioned in the time and particle movement section, higher beings, such as those covered in religion, are related to this theory. Based on these ideas covered above, I will cover what I believe can be a higher being or "god." There is either nothing controlling the universe (all luck), one god controlling the universe that is all-knowing (all luck), many gods, something akin to fate, or a being like us that was not a god but became all-knowing. For all of these, it does not matter if any are true as we should continue to do what we are doing and if these beings really cared, they would be able to have us change our ways.
All a god would need to do to make the universe as he wished, is to have a big-bang-like moment. He could set up all the particles and the explosion itself to make everything happen just as he intends. He would have the knowledge to know the future, and thus wouldn't need to listen to prayers as he has already answered them. Now this being might want to not know the future and just enjoy watching other beings and enjoy surprises, who knows, but either way, some being out there could have all the knowledge he needs to change everything, thus being a super being.
There could be multiple beings out there that each know everything, each of them fighting to change the universe to suit their plan. A being similar to us could also have found out how everything works and used that to his advantage to become god-like. There could also be nothing controlling the universe, and everything just happened because it did. There could be a being controlling the universe like fate, where there is no thought to it, but things just occur.
No matter which one is true, just know that whatever we are doing is exactly what these gods would want. We still have too little information to make any judgement. We do know that we cannot control the universe, but we should not assume that anything else is controlling it for us or that an order exists to the universe. For now, we should continue to make our right choices and live our lives as we see fit, keeping this idea that our choices were predetermined in the back of our mind.
All a god would need to do to make the universe as he wished, is to have a big-bang-like moment. He could set up all the particles and the explosion itself to make everything happen just as he intends. He would have the knowledge to know the future, and thus wouldn't need to listen to prayers as he has already answered them. Now this being might want to not know the future and just enjoy watching other beings and enjoy surprises, who knows, but either way, some being out there could have all the knowledge he needs to change everything, thus being a super being.
There could be multiple beings out there that each know everything, each of them fighting to change the universe to suit their plan. A being similar to us could also have found out how everything works and used that to his advantage to become god-like. There could also be nothing controlling the universe, and everything just happened because it did. There could be a being controlling the universe like fate, where there is no thought to it, but things just occur.
No matter which one is true, just know that whatever we are doing is exactly what these gods would want. We still have too little information to make any judgement. We do know that we cannot control the universe, but we should not assume that anything else is controlling it for us or that an order exists to the universe. For now, we should continue to make our right choices and live our lives as we see fit, keeping this idea that our choices were predetermined in the back of our mind.
Notes
Very little research was done in this, only observations about the world and things that I learned in school for the physics and statistics. Despite the minimum research, I still believe in these theories due to my observations of the real world and the logic these theories follow. I hope to find more research to support this soon.
** More ideas exist, I just wanted to cover these two as these are the most common ones I hear.
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