Can we predict the future?

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

Originally posted by whodey
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

what do you think computers can do? magic?

Originally posted by whodey
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

I predicted this day would come.
Today Freaky just got into a time machine and visited Yesteryear Freaky and let him know this eventuated.
That time machine was the creation of a computer.
That man built.
When he was in a simulation playing inside a computer.
That man built.

Originally posted by Zahlanzi
what do you think computers can do? magic?

What are you rambling about?

The more information you have at your disposal the more able you are to predict the future.

For example, you see the sun rise every day for 20 years, so you can easily predict it will do so tomorrow.

Social media is but one more centralized data bank that lets us know what people are thinking and doing. It is yet another source of artificial intelligence to help predict things like the Arab Spring, which computers predicted.

Originally posted by whodey
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

We can predict the movement of planets hundreds of years in advance with a fair amount of accuracy, we can predict how much longer the sun has left before it it's fuel runs out, and even predict when Andromeda will collide with our own galaxy.

Human societies are trickier to make predictions about, especially since the last 100 years, when technology and civilization has exponentially advanced. There are machines that predict whether a song will be a pop-hit or not (though I doubt they're used much), and we can predict (if not the winner) how close an election will be with consistent results. We can predict human population growth as well.

The natural world can be calculated with reliable accuracy (even the weather can be forcast 7 days in advance), and there are increasing amounts of predictions made about human cultures based on many continuing studies.

To what degree computers will be able to predict the future is unknown; but there are a lot of intriguing possibilities, some of which we may be surprised at being able to predict well.

If time is a dimension (which it is), then all time is happening right now.

We only percieve future, because we percieve time as a line running from A to B.

So, to answer the question: no, we can't predict the future, because it doesn't exist.

Originally posted by shavixmir
If time is a dimension (which it is), then all time is happening right now.

We only percieve future, because we percieve time as a line running from A to B.

So, to answer the question: no, we can't predict the future, because it doesn't exist.

Predictable response. 😵

Originally posted by whodey
Predictable response. 😵

No, your answer should be: if time is a dimension, you don't need to look into the future (it's not in the future, it's now; only somewhere else), you just have to peer over the borders of the dimension.

Originally posted by shavixmir
No, your answer should be: if time is a dimension, you don't need to look into the future (it's not in the future, it's now; only somewhere else), you just have to peer over the borders of the dimension.

You're smoking the good stuff again, I see.

Originally posted by whodey
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

I have 3-4 sarcastic answers I could give to this, but I'm having a pretty good day. Let the joy be universal. 🙂

Originally posted by whodey
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/sep/11/charliue-brooker-computer-predicts-future

Can computers predict the future? If you think about it, if you knew all the information there is to know, you should be able to predict the future. If we can then use a computer, that is able to compute large amounts of data, can they better predict the future than we can?

In philosophy this issue is known as determinism: if one theoretically has all the knowledge there is in the world, could one predict the future? We have no conclusive answer to this question mainly because the measurement problem of quantum mechanics remains unsolved.

Aside from that issue, there is the practical issue of computing power. Even many relative simple problems have exponentially increasing computational cost as a function of the size of the problem. See for instance:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Travelling_salesman_problem

In other words, there is no way we could ever hope to "solve the Universe" through brute force computing.

Originally posted by KazetNagorra
In philosophy this issue is known as determinism: if one theoretically has all the knowledge there is in the world, could one predict the future? We have no conclusive answer to this question mainly because the measurement problem of quantum mechanics remains unsolved.

Aside from that issue, there is the practical issue of computing power. Even many ...[text shortened]... words, there is no way we could ever hope to "solve the Universe" through brute force computing.

"We have no conclusive answer to this question mainly because the measurement problem of quantum mechanics remains unsolved."

As I said, human intellectual capacity is puny compared to the knowledge of the universe. To predict the future accurately one would have to know every facet of quantum mechanics.

Originally posted by FreakyKBH
I predicted this day would come.
Today Freaky just got into a time machine and visited Yesteryear Freaky and let him know this eventuated.
That time machine was the creation of a computer.
That man built.
When he was in a simulation playing inside a computer.
That man built.

You don't predict squat. you use your 20/20 hindsight, which we all have, to troll people...


Oh Freaky... pppppplease reply, I'm only a pathetic stutturer

Originally posted by whodey
What are you rambling about?

The more information you have at your disposal the more able you are to predict the future.

For example, you see the sun rise every day for 20 years, so you can easily predict it will do so tomorrow.

Social media is but one more centralized data bank that lets us know what people are thinking and doing. It is yet another ...[text shortened]... artificial intelligence to help predict things like the Arab Spring, which computers predicted.

'the more info we have the more we can predict the future'

That's just not right. Given the rise of a new situation (like an earthquake or such) people throw their ideas out take on love 'in droves'.

The more information we have on people is just not right. Despite what people might think... even of themselves

Originally posted by shavixmir
If time is a dimension (which it is), then all time is happening right now.

We only percieve future, because we percieve time as a line running from A to B.

So, to answer the question: no, we can't predict the future, because it doesn't exist.

I was frowning at the first line, but you came through... as usual. Nice post