Quantum destiny - On the non-existence of free will

• This text is based on a machine translation of the original Japanese version.

• Please refer to the Japanese version for the exact wording.
  Japanese version https://ncode.syosetu.com/n8341ht/

Author:Opalman Original 2016.06.29 Full revision 2022.08.07 Partial revision 2024.01.22, 2024.12.12

○ "Introduction"

"Life" is the story of what happens until you realize that "you yourself are not life."

○ "Main chapter"

If you were to say, "Your success in life is not due to your own efforts," most people would feel uncomfortable. Only those who feel that their life is not going well for some reason can accept this. This article is especially intended for such people.
What follows is my proposal that "free will does not exist, and life is automatically determined. We should start by changing the legal basis, and society should be built on that premise." What you think about it is entirely up to you.

I want you to think seriously about what it means to "exist", which is the origin of everything.
For something to "exist" means that it "interacts" with something, in other words, that it has an influence.
If it has no effect on us, even indirectly, then it does not exist for us.
It is precisely because it has even a slight impact that it is necessary to "take it into consideration."

Naturally, as long as it exists, the same thing will happen repeatedly, like billiard balls hitting each other. It's what we call a chain reaction.
The point is that it will continue to run automatically.
This remains true whether we imagine a universe in which the laws of physics are constantly changing, or in which the amount of matter is so small that it takes a long time between interactions.

On the other hand, think about a system that creates free will.
In the case of humans, that would be the brain. If it can truly be said to generate free will, then there cannot be even one thing in that system that operates automatically.

However, as I stated earlier, everything that "exists" moves automatically.
Therefore, free will does not exist.
Furthermore, no matter what physical laws we imagine in the universe, for the same reason, beings with free will cannot come into being, so God does not exist.

Life is decided automatically, whether you become rich or a criminal is all automatic.
There is no "I" or "you" in the sense of having free will.
We are simply a natural phenomenon.
"I" and "you" exist as complex natural phenomena that function automatically, but at their core they are no different from a rock or a typhoon.
Of course, there are differences in complexity, but these differences are merely boundaries separating words, and do not mean that there is any absolute or special difference.

What is needed to understand this problem is not high intelligence, but whether or not you can let go of the unconscious desire for humans to have value? Also, whether or not you can eliminate sensations and emotions and view it as a mere physical phenomenon without preconceptions? That's all.

This fact creates anxiety and discomfort, resulting in a strong rejection reaction.
This is because it would mean admitting that the values ​​that people have held dear up until now, such as carving out their own lives with their own hands and living their own way, are worthless.
However, I am writing this because I am convinced that this is something extremely important and cannot be avoided if humanity is to take the next step.
Even if we emotionally do not want to fully accept it, if the probability is far higher, then the attitude of a decent member of society would be to accept that society should be built based on that.

Below are some common mistakes:

■ "We can't say for sure because the theory of everything hasn't been solved yet."
Even as science advances and more perfect theories are discovered, all we get is a "deeper interpretation," and the "facts" do not change.
Even as we evolve from the law of universal gravitation to the theory of general relativity, the fact of "gravity" does not disappear.
Even if we make extreme assumptions such as this world being a virtual world, it doesn't change the fact that calculations equivalent to "gravity" are being carried out.

■ "We cannot say for sure because the functions of the brain have not yet been fully elucidated."
"Free will or not?" is only part of the question regarding the brain.
Imagine a large inverted triangle, assuming that the whole represents an understanding of all the brain's functions, and the absence of free will is the smaller inverted triangle at the bottom.
All that is needed to prove "Does or doesn't there exist free will?" is the necessary evidence, which is already there.
It's just that it's easier to persuade people if we fully understand the functions of the brain, but it's not at all essential.
(The standard for what constitutes perfection is also made vague in order to postpone conclusions.)

■ "The soul exists"
Even if we assume that there is a soul, as long as the soul exists it will function automatically, too. So introducing fantasy in order to postpone the conclusion will not change the conclusion.
How can inanimate objects combine to become living things? This is a mistaken idea that is based on our own perceptions.
Consciousness is just one of the structures that has remained because it increases the chances of survival.
Consciousness strengthens the consolidation of episodic memories, increasing the chances of survival if you find yourself in a similar situation again.
Excitement increases fighting ability and positiveness, while love creates stronger collaboration, which also increases the chances of survival.

By the way, whether the future is decided or not is separate from whether we have free will or not.
It has been confirmed through Bell's experiment that the future has an element of randomness. However, whether the future is predetermined or not, if it happens automatically, there is no free will.
Future experiments may reveal phenomena other than quantum fluctuations that cause randomness, but these too will have no bearing on free will.

This concludes the main topic, but at this point we may arrive at the question, what is the mind?
As stated above, there is no need to clarify this point "to prove the absence of free will."
However, since it is a related topic, I will also touch on the topic of cognition.

So let's talk about "The Ship of Theseus."
First, let's say there is a ship here.
The "Ship of Theseus" question asks, "If some parts of a ship become old and are replaced, and this process is repeated, and after a few years all the parts are replaced with new ones, can we say that the ship is exactly the same as the original?"

Naturally, even if the name is the same, it will not be completely the same if some parts are replaced.
But the same thing happens inside our bodies all the time.
This is true at the cellular level, and even more so at the quantum level.
Strictly speaking, every Planck time (the smallest unit of time that has meaning) is a different physical state.
What is moving is not the unit called "we" but "quanta," and at each moment we are nothing more than an aggregate of countless results that change from moment to moment.
In other words, it is correct to think that we are actually different people at every moment.
However, we assume that this entire series of events is all "ourselves."
I call this the "alive delusion" and the reason we cannot escape from it is because, in addition to the fact that we are dominated by our own Intuitions, if we do not think this way, we will have to seriously confront the terrifying problem of denying the existence of the self.
That's why people try to ignore this problem, using intuitive judgment as an excuse.
But sensory judgments can never be evidence of anything.
We have a certain finite structure, so our arms cannot stretch and it is natural that there are limits to the cognitive functions of our brains.
If there is a certain structure, no matter how advanced it may be, ultimately all we can understand is simple things below it and infer phenomena a little higher based on that.
This pattern also applies to intelligent lifeforms far more advanced than us.

In the first place, it is natural that there are limits to self-awareness for the following reasons.

■1 Throughout evolutionary history, the ability to grasp brain activity did not develop because it was unrelated to survival.
First of all, the question arises as to how to grasp the activity of parts of the brain that have the function of grasping brain activity.
"To understand A, you need B, and to understand C..."
(This has a similar structure to Laplace's demon paradox.)

■2 The brain omits information to increase processing efficiency and achieve advanced functions.
In order to increase the probability of survival, there is no choice but to process the data using approximate values.

■3 In terms of complexity, the brain (hardware [units: elementary particles or superstrings]) which is the foundation that gives rise to the mind, and the mind (software [units: cells]), which is a function that arises within the brain, the mind is inevitably inferior to the brain in terms of complexity, the mind as a system is inevitably incapable of grasping and understanding all of the brain's activity in real time.
This contradiction in ability is the fundamental reason why we can only understand the entire activity of the brain as a vague concept (mind).

■4 First of all, due to the uncertainty principle, it is impossible to obtain accurate data on the position and momentum of even a single elementary particle at the same time.
Furthermore, due to the observer effect, accurate data on position and momentum cannot be obtained simultaneously.

In the end, since we can only process information imperfectly, even if we try to understand it completely, we naturally cannot do so, and the mind feels like an elusive thing.

A specific experimental example is the passive consciousness hypothesis, but even those who support this experiment claim that since it is possible to cancel commands, the possibility of free will still remains.
That's not what I'm saying, but rather that it's impossible in principle.
In the first place, the concept of free will itself is based on the absurd premise that the will is decided without any logic.
However, since we can only live by relying on our own perceptions, we have completely ruled out the possibility that "we do not have free will, but we are unable to realize this due to a lack of cognitive function."
However, just as the world we see now is merely an image synthesized in our brains based on the spectrum of light, our sense of reality is merely "how we interpret it" and has absolutely no relation to the truth of the universe.

It's about time we should finally confront this fear and face the truth.

○ "Postscript"

Writing unnecessary things is not beautiful and will only create unnecessary confusion, so topics that are off topic will be written here.

■ "The significance of spreading quantum destiny to all humanity"
I'm going to explain why we need to promote an idea that is simply unpleasant, encouraging us to face problems we don't want to face head on.
In a society that is unaware of the absence of free will, discrimination will inevitably occur against cyberized people born in the distant future, digital lifeforms that have no gender from the start, and people who were originally pets but became highly intelligent and then had their personalities digitized.
What level we treat them as humans will naturally be determined, but if we fail to understand the absence of free will, even if artificial lifeforms become complex enough, we will continue to believe that there is some fundamental difference between them and our physical selves.
Even worse, people with old ideas will start saying things like, "I have a soul."
This inevitably leads to discrimination.
If more people understand quantum destiny in advance, it will be possible to prepare for possible future changes and prevent discrimination.

Also, believing in a lie is the strongest weapon that humans have, as it maximizes collective solidarity.
The concept of God is the most prime example of this.
Because there is diversity in living things, the emergence of extremists is inevitable as a group grows.
Needless to say, this tendency is inevitably pronounced in monotheism.
And because the majority of people practice their faith in peace, they are unable to stop the extremists.
They mass-produce new lies to affirm the lie that God exists, and eventually these lies transform into something they use to maintain their own power.
Because the denial of God is directly linked to the denial of their own identity and power, they become increasingly radicalized in their attempts to oppress and control others in order to prevent others from denying their authority, which they believe is sanctioned by God.

Accepting quantum destiny is almost impossible in countries with a strong religious color, and unless we start with Japan, it will be impossible to change people's perceptions.
I have said what I needed to say in this article, but no matter how much time passes, it will be the most difficult challenge for us to suppress the strongest weapon we have acquired with our own logical thinking.

■ "About human evolution"
If the cyber brain could develop to the point where it could reproduce the reverberation structure in which the electrical signal of one synapse has an effect on the surrounding electric field, and this effect has a further new effect,
In the future, as personality is digitized, the differences in gender and age that we currently consider to be absolute will no longer be meaningful.
Gender differences only seem absolute because of a lack of science and technology.
There will be people whose grandmothers are highly intelligent dogs, people who are born without any concept of gender, beings that merge multiple personalities into a single new identity will also appear, and memories will also be bought and sold.
We will enter an era in which the definition of what it means to be human will become increasingly ambiguous in the distant future.

Naturally, the optimal structure will differ for each environment, but when it comes to evolution in general, evolution is about converging towards the most efficient structure possible.
After personalities are digitized, in order to become as efficient as possible, people will create new, more efficient languages ​​and will communicate by predicting what each other will say.

Currently, being emotional is considered human and wonderful, but in the distant future, things will likely converge and there will be an increase in more calm people.
As you can see from the current business books and life guidebooks, what they are saying is that you should not be distracted by unnecessary mental fluctuations, but rather calmly do what is mathematically most likely to succeed. Emotions are necessary to increase your chances of survival, so they will not disappear anytime soon, but if we are to converge on an efficient structure, it is inevitable that we will be able to perfectly control our emotions.
The real essence of human existence will begin once we are able to discard the preconceived notion that emotionality is human and wonderful.

Social inequality after digitalization of personality
If personalities could be digitized, ordinary people could become much more functional, whether that be by using a fully cyborg body or connecting their flesh to a network.
Of course, if multiple bodies are used, a pseudo-teleportation lifestyle would be possible.
However, some wealthy people will be able to independently evolve their own data at an incredible speed, so the gap in ability between them and the average person will widen by an order of magnitude.
However, once a person has evolved to this point, they must choose whether or not to abandon their personality.
For example, there is the question of whether quantum teleportation should be considered as a transfer or a copy.
If the time comes when quantum teleportation becomes necessary for survival, then those who are hesitant to use it will be eliminated.
In this way, the ultimate evolution requires embracing all change.
If you continue to remodel your self-structure in an attempt to evolve endlessly, at some point you will be forced to abandon your own personality, and being able to abandon yourself at that point is a huge hurdle.
Of course, most people's evolution will stop there, but some will even overcome that wall.
However, perhaps this can already be considered an early stage of assimilation with the universe.

■ "Personal view of the universe"
In the end, inflation and the Big Bang seem to be synonymous with the formation of black holes.
In short, it is a difference between viewing from the inside or from the outside.
Therefore, my theory combines the holographic cosmology and the Schwarzschild cosmology.
According to holographic cosmology, three dimensions plus gravity can be described in two dimensions.
Opinions are divided on what this second dimension is specifically, but I simply think of it as the event horizon of a black hole.
Our physical existence in our mother universe is likely to exist as the vibrational information of strings on the event horizon.

This may just be due to my lack of knowledge, but I don't know anyone who has mentioned the following, so I'd like to make it clear just in case.
The more matter a black hole absorbs, the larger the surface area of ​​its event horizon becomes.
Naturally, the amount of surrounding matter absorbed also increases.
I suspect it may be correlated with the increasing expansion rate of our universe.
In other words, I believe that if the black holes, which are the manifestations of our universe in the mother universe, consume all the surrounding matter, the expansion of our universe will also stop.
As it moves through the parent universe, it will begin to expand again if it starts to absorb new matter.
Of course, eventually Hawking radiation will cause our universe to revert back to the parent universe.
The Mother Universe should return to the Grandmother Universe, and eventually to the original Eve Universe.
Of course, there should be an infinite number of Eve universes.
In superstring theory, it is predicted that there are 10 to the power of 500 patterns of physical laws inferred from extra dimensions, but regardless of whether this is correct or not, even in universes with the same physical laws, they will not be exactly the same due to quantum fluctuations that create randomness, so in effect, an almost infinite number of worlds are possible.

The ultimate question is, "Why is being and not nothingness the fundamental state?"
Of course, we will never know why, but if there really was nothing, nothing would begin, so we can only say that as long as we exist, our fundamental state must be nothingness in the quantum mechanical sense, where positive and negative cancel each other out, making it "zero but not nothing."
The important thing is that things that exist allow for changes in energy.
In other words, anything is possible, but at the same time, this means that eternal existence in the same state is impossible.However, personally, I get the impression that rather than change being tolerated, it is something that is constantly forced to change.
In any case, even if all Eve universes were to return to zero, another Eve universe could still be born, so it can be said that eternity exists in that sense.

○ "Finally"
I would like to apologize for the fact that at the beginning I wrote, "What follows is my proposal that 'free will does not exist, and life is automatically determined. We should begin by changing the legal basis, and society should be built on this premise,' and how you feel about it is entirely up to you." This is merely a writing technique to make it easier for people to accept, and of course it is a lie.