Laplace's Demon Explained in 4 Minutes | Philosophy of Determinism

This is an explanation of Laplace's Demon and the Philosophy of Determinism. I also explain what Laplace's Demon can teach us about the relationship between Physics and Determinism.

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Maccone-Pati Uncertainty Relations:

Image/Video Credit:

Laplace, Jean-Baptiste Paulin Guérin, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Laplace, James Posselwhite, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Luzifer, Franz Stuck, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Newton, William Blake, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Scholar Reading in Study, Dutch School, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Archimedes, Domenico Fetti, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Nebula Space Video and Computer Simulation of What James Webb would see are taken Royalty Free from Videvo

Big Bang Animation, taken from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/CI Lab, slightly sped up and reversed animation for part of the video

Cole Thomas The Course of Empire The Arcadian or Pastoral State 1836, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Cole Thomas The Course of Empire Destruction 1836, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Cole Thomas The Course of Empire Desolation 1836, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Cole Thomas The Consummation The Course of the Empire 1836, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Gerrit Dou (Dutch - Astronomer by Candlelight), Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Gallery of the Louvre Samuel Morse, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Caravaggio (Michelangelo Merisi) - The Cardsharps, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Socrates Address by Belgian artist Louis Joseph Lebrun, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Astronomer Copernicus, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Johannes Vermeer-The Astronomer, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer above the sea of fog, Public Domain from Wikimedia Commons

[bandito_kek]

When I start anew in life, I hope my fate is not set in stone. When I’m at the peak of the tracks on a roller coaster, I hope all has been determined beforehand.

[possumsinatrenchcoat]

I love the song based off this theory, Laplace's Angel by Will Wood which makes fun of determinism by sarcastically saying that if there is no free will than there is no evil and everything should be legal

[rishabhsolanki]

“Given the present moment and the laws of nature, there is only one possible future.”

I must respectfully disagree. From any given present moment, multiple futures are possible. While all potential futures are theoretically computed, we only perceive one outcome. The many-worlds interpretation of quantum mechanics aligns more closely with determinism, as it suggests that all possible futures do occur, even though we only experience one specific reality.

Such a cool video. Loved it.

[troy]

Determinism is real, but it is just too crazy and too varied to predict how a person would behave with it, just based upon an immeasurable concatenation of prior events. They behave deterministically, but still mysteriously enough to the past, you can only guess a range of behaviors.

Deterministic + Random, and there is no free will in either of those.

[jessstuart]

There is no distinction between knowable and measurable. Quantum mechanics places hard limits on what is measurable (Ex. complementary variables such as particle position and momentum).

[Olliejz]

The cause of hawking radiation, where two particles appear and disappear by joining to each other is completely random. This means there is always going to be a degree of uncertainty when trying to predict something over a long enough timescale as these particles interact with the universe in some ways.

[doomd]

The problems here:

Define “universe”
are you talking about everything resulted from big bang
Or totality of literally everything

Because if the “vast intelligence”
Is inside the universe,
It can’t calculate all particles infinitely because it is made of those particles
And would be calculating stuff larger than itself and would have to abstract it

[КамильАвсахов-уи]

Well, quantum physics and behavior of quantum objects completely refutes the idea of determinism. For now maybe, but still.

[Palavon_of_Shiraz]

Ngl, this felt like the non answer equivalent of an explanation.

[Trizzer]

Pretty sure the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle proves non-determinism

[poopykousei]

I came from an anime that included this

[frigoff]

That photo of Sam Harris didn’t age well