Tempest

Well, as some many others are, am still a student, and I'll be a senior in high school this year, but I do have a myriad of jobs I do. My main job is a paid internship with my school district doing sysadmin work and helping out with the IT department since they're understaffed and wanted some more help. On the side, I also do tech work for a few friend's businesses like maintaining their servers and upgrading their network equipment. I also clean some friends' boats and I captain charter boats and help prep them for cruises.

Ousted

[14:49:35] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:49:38] Swampellow: <3 [14:49:44] Swampellow: Ill quote you whenever i want [14:49:44] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:50:16] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me << What bibs said [14:50:36] Jacze: [20:50:15] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:50:49] Dragon Wendel - Ⓡⓔⓥⓔⓛⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ: [21:50:28] Jacze: [20:50:15] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:50:58] YinYang9705: oh goddamn it [14:50:59] Dragon Wendel - Ⓡⓔⓥⓔⓛⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ: Also Bibarel worst HM Slave [14:51:00] Swampellow: Dragon Wendel - Ⓡⓔⓥⓔⓛⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ: [21:50:28] Jacze: [20:50:15] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:51:11] YinYang9705: this is getting out of hand [14:51:11] Communist DW - ⒸⓄⓁⒹⒾⓈⓈⓊⒸⒸ: [15:49:38] Swampellow: Dragon Wendel - Ⓡⓔⓥⓔⓛⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ: [21:50:28] Jacze: [20:50:15] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me [14:51:12] Jacze: we twitch chat now [14:51:22] +Tеmpеst: ...holy shit [14:51:24] YinYang9705: time to solve it the only way I know how [14:51:24] Fezzdog: Kappa = Grey Face (no space) [14:51:24] Cobalt996: Smits, what hae we done? [14:51:25] +Tеmpеst: Lol [14:51:30] Tony Bibaroni: [21:51:08] Communist DW - ⒸⓄⓁⒹⒾⓈⓈⓊⒸⒸ: [15:49:38] Swampellow: Dragon Wendel - Ⓡⓔⓥⓔⓛⓐⓣⓘⓞⓝ: [21:50:28] Jacze: [20:50:15] Cobalt996: [15:49:45] Tony Bibaroni: [21:49:32] +Tеmpеst: ...how dare you quote me

Who? Micky, return!

6

I'm up for testing if you need more.

Society functions like we have free will currently, but there are a set of rules governing it, and they are rules you are free to break. The deterministic view of the world is that every thought and every action and every single thing you ever do is predestined and not controlled by you. You cannot decide what you do, what you feel, what you are. There is no concept of you controlling anything even.

I’ve been very philosophical lately and I’ve spent a great deal thinking about one of the most terrifying propositions for me to stomach: do we truly have free will? Most people like to believe that they have free will. It’s far more comforting to think that way, and to be in control of your own life, then to be an agent in something or someone else’s game. Society needs the concept of free will though. The entire justice system is reliant on it. Capitalism is reliant on it. Democracy is reliant on it. In these systems, you are free to choose. If we were deterministic, then why punish someone for murder? It wasn’t there doing. If we weren’t free willed, then how could we blaze our own path to achieve our goals? If we under the control of outside forces, then how could we vote for who we think is best? Of course, if we are at something else’s will; we are deterministic and not free willed, then this entire discussions is moot. These institutions could be just a facade. In fact, our very existence is moot. It raises the stake of why are we here to new heights. If we are determined by outside forces, then what is our purpose? During our entire lives, we constantly strive to find an identity and find a cause, and we waste time doing this. So if we are without free will, then why bother with this whole charade? Science is at odds with the concept of free will: In science all things have a cause. In relativity, if you know the starting conditions, you could construct the entirety of the time line of the universe. All things have a cause, no? Physcology also points to us being deterministic. We are slave to our biological processes and neurotransmitters. Peering into the brain reveals nothing but the flow of chemicals. Certain genes even dictate a more likely reaction from someone, and can influence the way we feel. Free will or not, you personality is at least partially inherited. Now, switch gears with me here. We know very little about the human brain. It is quite likely the most complicated thing in the universe: there are over 100 trillion connections in a space no larger than two fists put together. However, perhaps the most enigmatic part of our existence is consciousness. What drives consciousness is a major mystery to neuroscience, and classically it seems at odds with science. There is a theory called quantum mind that states that our consciousness derives from the inherent randomness of quantum mechanics. According to our current theories, the only random thing in the universe is quantum mechanics: whether or not a nucleus will decay, etc. This randomness means that science, which is meant to find a cause and source of everything -- it strives to be deterministic -- can never predict quantum mechanical interactions with a hundred percent accuracy. If our consciousness is indeed based upon the randomness of the small, then perhaps it transcends the deterministic of the world around us, and affords us true free will, and allows us to act without cause. There is famous experiment in quantum mechanics called the double slit experiment, where a particle acts as a wave, until an outside observer forces it to act as a particle and pick a slit to go through. It is this observation of a conscious individual that forces the wave to break down into a particle. In fact, in the grandest theories of the role of consciousness in quantum mechanics, it is consciousness that causes all waveforms to break down. In layman's terms, it is a conscious mind that causes matter to manifest itself from energy. It forces the universe to “pick” what it looks like. If the conscious mind it that significant, then we have tremendous power. Perhaps we were destined to be created by the universe to influence it and change its structure. We’re unsure of what beings have conscious and unsure of what beings or entities can force a wave function collapse. But if we truly are the only things that can force matter to manifest itself, and it’s our conscious that makes us a step apart; it’s our self-awareness that allows us to dictate the universe. Does this mean we really have free will? The universe may have just created us to break down the wave function. That may be our purpose, and we are deterministic at the will of the universe to change it. We will never know. In the end, free will will always be debated. Every aspect can be argued. It can never be proven. It had been, and will continue to be debated for centuries. I believe we do. The conscious mind, with it’s sheer might, borne from the randomness of quantum mechanics, affords us our free will and allows us to blaze our own path…. Or maybe it’s just more comforting to be independent and not to be a slave to others or even the physics and chemistry that drives the neurotransmitters in my brain. Perhaps ignorance is just bliss. The less you think about it, the better off you are.

Guess what guys!? We have two birthdays today! More cake for everyone... oh wait... I guess we don't have any. Sorry. Dobby is turning 18 today, and he's been such a great friend and member, I think it's time to set him free: And Simon is turning 19! He's such a great mod... I don't think he deserves to be dirty any more: Happy birthday guys! Hope it's a great one.