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rhinehartg
Dear Folks,I have often seen it stated that quantum randomness, other than in a few very contrived situations, cannot aftect the determinacy of larger scale events.I believe that this could not (accepting only, as an initial premise, that individual quantum events really are random) be true, in view of the implications of Chaos Theory.In a nutshell, the behavior of complex systems is critidally sensitive to initial conditions. This means ANY input to the system, including that so small as to be described quantitatively as at a limit approaching zero, will be significant to the future behavior of the system. I further think it is easy to show that quantum events do provide non-zero input to large scale chaotic systems. Hence, the notion that (presumed) quantum randomness does not effect the behavior of ordinary reality, would appear to be out of date.Here is a concrete example:The radioactive isotopes of Radon gas are everywhere measurable in the air. Over time, a predictable number of these atoms will decay. Whether or not a given atom will decay, in a given time, is the sort of event which we presume to be random.Consider a samlple of air at time T. At time T+1, there are a huge number of different possible forms that air sample may assume, depending on which radon atoms decay, and which do not. On the other hand, the future of any complex system of which that air sample is a part (after time T+1), will be critically dependant upon exactly which configuration we begin with (at T+1), and therefore, critically dependant upon exactly which radon atoms decay.My concluson, would be, that at time T, the future of our chaotic system is truly undeternined, because the inital conditions at time T+1 have not yet been "randomly" produced. Thus, quantum randomness will, in this example, affect ordinary reality, on any scale, in which the composition of any air sample, is considered input to the behavior of any complex system. And this situation can hardly be characterized as exceptional, or contrived.Remember, that I have stipulated that we presume quantum events really are random.Is my conclusion correct ?Regards,Rhinehart G.