(6) The Super-Nature of Free-Will

Chapter 6: The Super-Nature of Free-Will

Does the act of measuring a system change the system?

The short answer is yes. If you keep opening the door to an oven (to check on how the pie is cooking inside), you will let the hot air escape (the pie will cook differently than if you didn’t check on the pie). One thing to note is that if you keep opening the door to the oven (and your eyes are closed), you will get the same result as if you keep opening the door to the oven (and your eyes are open). In this example, the act of “opening the door” constitutes measuring the system. Thus, the act of measuring the system changes the system in the same way regardless of whether you are consciously aware that you are measuring the system (or whether you are not consciously aware that you are measuring the system). Now obviously this is an oversimplified idealistic example. However, (when it comes to understanding nature) there are many peculiarities of quantum physics that resemble this example.
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/801194/13/the-teacher-the-terrorists-and-the-temporal-war

To see a more specific example of how measurement affects a system in quantum physics, we can use the example of polarization of light. Light is polarized based on the orientation the light wave is vibrating as it travels through space. Vertically polarized light has its electric field vibrating vertically. Horizontally polarized light has its electric field vibrating horizontally. Light polarized at a specific angle has the electric field vibrating at that specific angle. Un-polarized light naturally has an electric field vibrating at all kinds of angles. A polarized filter will let only the component of light get through it that is aligned with the orientation of the polarization of the filter. If you have one filter vertically polarized, it will block 50% of the light going through it (it will only allow vertically polarized light go through it). If you have one filter horizontally polarized, it will block 50% of the light going through it (it will only allow horizontally polarized light go through it). If you have two polarized filters at a 90 degree angle to each other, they will block all of the light. If you have one filter vertically polarized in front of a filter horizontally polarized, the vertically polarized light that makes it through the vertical filter is then blocked by the horizontal filter (thus no light will get through the two filters). However, if you have one filter vertically polarized in front of a filter horizontally polarized (and then you stick a third filter between them polarized at a 45 degree angle), light will get through all three filters! How does adding a third filter between the two filters let more light through? How does adding an extra filter “measurement” let more light through? The reason is that the vertically polarized light that makes it through the first filter does have a component that is 45 degrees (that will make it through the middle filter), and that component that is 45 degrees (that makes it through the middle filter) does have a component that is horizontal (that will make it through the last filter). Thus, the act of measuring the polarization at 45 degrees actually affects the state of the light’s polarization and allows light to get through the three filter system.

Nature operates by a set of rules, which we call physical laws. One of those rules (or physical laws) is that some conditions of the natural universe are correlated with other conditions in the universe. If those conditions are correlated by the parameter of time, we call those conditions causally linked; Causality involves conditions of the universe that are linked by time. If you set the initial conditions for the cause, then at a later time you will have the conditions of the effect. Sometimes there are more than one set of initial conditions that will (at a later time) yield the conditions of the effect; sometimes an effect can be due to more than one cause. Our first example is if I drop a ball above the surface of the Earth (it will fall downward toward the center of the Earth). Our second example is if I launch a ball straight upward above the surface of the Earth (it will fall back downward toward the center of the Earth). If you see me about to drop a ball, then you know it will fall and collide with the ground. If you see me launch a ball straight upward, then you know it will fall and collide with the ground. However, if you see a ball falling to collide with the ground, you do not know whether I launched the ball straight upward (and it rose to the apex) or whether I dropped the ball from where the apex would have been.
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/801194/14/the-teacher-the-terrorists-and-the-temporal-war

Not all the conditions in the universe were caused by previous conditions of the universe. There are some fundamental conditions in the universe that are not causally linked to previous conditions in the universe. These fundamental conditions include the initial conditions at the beginning of the universe, boundary conditions at the edge of the visible universe, and quantum conditions that seem to have a correlation (but are unpredictable).

Quantum Erasure involves when a particle could have traveled along multiple paths to reach the same state. If a system is set up such that the path information of the particle has been erased (so that you do not know which path the particle took), then the particle can behave as if it went along both paths (either path and neither path) and interferes with itself through constructive and destructive interference. A particle can travel like a wave along multiple paths and interfere with itself; constructive interference of the wave gives the particle a higher probability or reaching a state (and destructive interference gives the particle a lower probability of reaching a state). The particle is able to interfere like a wave as long as it is not measured during any of the paths it travels. If the particle is measured along any path, then the path information has not been erased (the particle travels along only one path and does not interfere with itself). A different probability distribution is obtained at the end of the paths when the particle is measured along one path versus not measured along any paths. An example is the Young’s Double Slit Experiment.

Quantum Entanglement involves conditions of the universe that are correlated by quantum processes (we call those states Entangled). Quantum Entanglement involves conditions of the universe that are linked by quantum processes. In the pair production of two particles, one particle may be “spin up” and the other particle may be “spin down” (or vice versa) when measured with respect to a certain axis. This is similar to how a coin will have one side heads and the other side tails (and the result can change depending on the orientation of the hand catching the coin); if the hand was perfectly horizontal, the coin might have landed one way, but if the hand was at an angle, the coin may have landed another way. The weird thing about Entanglement is that the act of measuring the spin of one of the particles at a certain orientation can change the probability of measuring the spin of the other particle at different orientation. The particles seem to be connected somehow no matter how far apart the particles are from each other as long as they do not interact with any other matter during their journey. However, if one of the particles interacts with another particle during the journey it severs the connection and ruins the correlation of the system (similar to how opening the door to the oven might change the cooking conditions). It may be possible to transmit information faster than the speed of light via this correlation connection between a particles that are entangled. A stream of entangled particles could be sent in opposite directions and the person on one side would choose to measure or not measure the spin of the incoming particles (in perhaps a Morse code sequence) to transmit a message. The person on the other side would be then be able to decipher the Morse code sequence based on distribution of the measurements on that side. A two-way communication network could be set up by having two streams of these entangled particles, (each stream for a one-way communication in each direction). Thus, it may be possible to send messages faster than the speed of light using streams of entangled particles (even though the individual particles were traveling less than the speed of light). It is theoretically possible that there could still be streams of entangled particles that were originally created near the beginning of the universe (which have pairs of entangle particles on opposite sides of the universe). These particles would be difficult (if not impossible) to detect because they would not have interacted with any other matter along their journey; they may even be weakly interacting particles similar to neutrinos which can go through light-years worth of matter without interacting. Thus theoretically, the action on one side of the universe could send a message or information across the entire visible universe.
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/801194/15/the-teacher-the-terrorists-and-the-temporal-war

On the fundamental level of physics, what causes a measurement to take place?

This is the eternal question. On the fundamental level of physics, we can only calculate the probability that a measurement will take place, but we cannot predict the outcome of any single measurement. However, when a large number of measurements occur on the fundamental level, they seem to match our predicted probabilities. The particles of the universe could be traveling along multiple possible paths, which have interactions determined by the particles being entangled in ways we cannot comprehend (the exact mathematical description could be so vast and coupled that only the Creator could solve it). We hide our ignorance using probabilities and approximate models. Any model of physics that gives a specific outcome as an approximation, predicts that outcome because it is the one with an extremely high probability for a large group of measured particles.

If the Creator can calculate our choices, do we have free-will?

The short answer is yes. It is trivial to argue about free-will in a natural paradigm because free-will is inherently supernatural. The fundamental conditions of the universe include the initial conditions at the beginning of the universe, the boundary conditions at the edge of the visible universe, and quantum conditions that appear to be unpredictable. The fundamental conditions of the universe are naturally sovereign, nothing else in the universe caused them. All other conditions in the universe are somehow correlated with the fundamental conditions of the universe (through some connection whether it be causality or entanglement). Since the fundamental conditions of the universe are sovereign, they are unpredictable; they are what they are and it is trivial to say something in nature caused them. Therefore the cause for the fundamental conditions has to be something supernatural (above or beyond nature).

Free-will is supernatural just as consciousness is supernatural. Our natural brains are somehow connected to our supernatural “soul”, which is the part of us that conscious and experience sensations.

The processes of our natural brains are ultimately correlated to the fundamental conditions of the universe, which are chosen by our supernatural minds; our supernatural minds use information from our brains resulting from the fundamental conditions of the universe (those that have already been measured) to make an informed decision of what to choose for the fundamental conditions of the universe that have not yet been measured.
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/801194/16/the-teacher-the-terrorists-and-the-temporal-war

The Creator knows the laws of the universe, the fundamental conditions of the universe that will ultimately be chosen, and all the other conditions in the universe that will ultimately result.

If the Creator already knows the future, why do we still need to consciously experience it?

The fundamental conditions of the universe are a merely a byproduct; the eternal minds and souls are the real product. The fundamental conditions of the universe are what we choose; “souls” and “minds” are why we choose it. Knowing what the correct course of action should be versus actually choosing to do it are two different things. It is trivial to give honor to a person who choose to lovingly sacrifice if their soul didn’t actually have to risk consciously experiencing the sensations associated with the loving sacrifice. Since the eternal minds make their choices in part based on the sensations that can be experienced by the eternal “soul”, the “soul” must consciously experience those sensations. After all the choices have been made, the eternal “soul” and eternal mind will become immutable for all eternity.

Many times the choices that our “soul” perceives to be experienced in the present were actually chosen in the past by our mind. For example, a person might think that his or her choice for what to eat for lunch was made when he or she opened his or her lunchbox to eat it, but actually the choice for what he or she will eat for lunch was made when he or she packed the lunch. In the same way our “soul” often experiences a delay from the habits of the mind that were actually chosen over time in the past. By the time the “soul” experiences the consequences of the choices, sometimes it is often too late to change; the choice has already been made. Once we die and our eternal “soul” and eternal mind become immutable, we have already chosen eternal heaven or eternal hell for our “soul”.

The Creator may have allowed the “soul” and mind of the angels and demons to have chosen some of the fundamental conditions of the universe that have already been measured. The “soul” and mind of some angels may already be immutable; they may have already chosen eternal loving obedience to their Creator and eternal heaven. The “soul” and mind of demons may already be immutable; they may have already chosen eternal rebellious rejection to their Creator and eternal hell.
https://www.smashwords.com/extreader/read/801194/17/the-teacher-the-terrorists-and-the-temporal-war