#indeterminacy

No Quantum of Reality

Reality is not quantized; it's infinitely divisible. There is no fundamental "smallest" unit of space, time, or any other physical quantity.

Infinite Reality

The universe, at its core, is infinite. This could mean infinite in extent or infinitely divisible, or both.

Emergent Reality

Macroscopic properties and phenomena emerge from the interactions of infinite underlying components.

Statistical Probability

Due to the infinite nature of reality, every outcome is ultimately a statistical probability, leading to indeterminism.

Potential Criticisms and Counterarguments

- Criticism: Even if reality is infinitely divisible, couldn't it still be deterministic? If the laws of physics governing the infinitesimal components are deterministic, the overall system would also be deterministic.

- Counterargument: This assumes a "bottom-up" causality where the behavior of infinitesimal components rigidly determines macroscopic events. In an emergent system, the infinite interactions and complexity could lead to unpredictable outcomes. Think of it like this: even with deterministic rules (e.g., the laws of physics), if you have an infinite number of "players" (infinitesimal components) interacting in an infinite space, predicting the overall outcome with certainty becomes impossible. This is analogous to chaos theory, where even simple deterministic systems can exhibit unpredictable behavior due to their sensitivity to initial conditions.

- Criticism: Quantum mechanics already incorporates indeterminism. Your theory seems to just "push the problem down" to a sub-quantum level.

- Counterargument: Quantum mechanics introduces indeterminism at the Planck scale, but it still assumes a quantized reality at that level. This theory goes further, suggesting that even the Planck scale is not the fundamental limit. This leads to a deeper level of indeterminacy where the very concept of definite states and fixed laws may break down.

- Criticism: How can we make any predictions or have any scientific understanding in a completely indeterminate universe?

- Counterargument: Even in an indeterminate universe, patterns and probabilities can emerge. While specific events might be unpredictable, overall trends and statistical distributions can still be observed and studied. This is similar to how we understand weather patterns: we can't predict the exact path of a single raindrop, but we can make probabilistic forecasts about overall weather conditions.

- Criticism: Is there any evidence to support the idea of an infinitely divisible reality?

- Counterargument: Currently, there is no direct empirical evidence for or against the infinite divisibility of reality. However, the concept has a long history in philosophy and mathematics (e.g., Zeno's paradoxes). Furthermore, some theoretical frameworks, like certain interpretations of string theory or loop quantum gravity, hint at the possibility of a reality without a fundamental quantum.

The Infinity of a Circle

A circle is a continuous curve, meaning that there are no gaps or breaks in its path. Mathematically, we say it contains an infinite number of points.

Here's why:

- Divisibility: You can divide any arc of a circle into two smaller arcs. You can then divide those arcs again, and again, and again, infinitely. There's no limit to how small you can make the arcs.

- No "Smallest" Unit: Unlike a pixelated image on a screen, a perfect mathematical circle doesn't have a smallest unit. There's no "circle pixel" or smallest possible arc length.

The Challenge of Specifying Points

While a circle has infinitely many points, it's surprisingly difficult to precisely specify the location of any individual point. Here's the catch:

- Irrational Numbers: The coordinates of most points on a circle involve irrational numbers like pi (π). Irrational numbers have decimal representations that go on forever without repeating. This means you can never write down their exact value.

- Approximations: In practice, we use approximations for pi and other irrational numbers. This means any point we specify on a circle is actually an approximation, not its exact location.

Four Special Points

There are only four points on a circle that we can specify precisely:

- (1, 0): The point where the circle intersects the positive x-axis.

- (0, 1): The point where the circle intersects the positive y-axis.

- (-1, 0): The point where the circle intersects the negative x-axis.

- (0, -1): The point where the circle intersects the negative y-axis.

These points have coordinates that are whole numbers, making them easy to define.

Even though the circle is a well-defined mathematical object, the precise location of most of its points remains elusive due to the nature of infinity and irrational numbers.

This could suggest that even in a seemingly well-defined system (like a circle or, perhaps, the universe), the infinite nature of reality might introduce a fundamental level of indeterminacy due to the approximation required at the point of determination.

In other words, at the point of any decision, there are infinite approximations of reality statistically coalescing/emerging into a decisive result.

This fundamental indeterminacy could extend to the neural processes underlying decision-making.

That is the basis of free will.

Ah, quantum physics, arguably the final frontier of theoretical physics. A lot of people can’t wrap their heads around it, and the metaphors used to describe it can often paint an incomplete picture. However, the gist seems to be that even smaller than protons, neutrons and electrons are quantum particles that seem constantly to change, or at least don’t have a set form until observed, and that there may be an infinite state of maybe-particles just beyond/behind/below space as we know it.

The vanguard class deals with the manipulation of how chaotic randomness creates entropy in matter and energy, so it only makes sense that some would be able to tap into the erratic nature of these quarks and bring forth for a few moments their infinite possibility.

This aspect was introduced in the Drift Crisis book, which makes sense as the galaxy was altered by the sudden crash and breakdown of the setting’s hyperspace dimension, causing either new abilities to be developed by the chaos, or at least tapped into as alternatives while an entire dimension used by every interstellar civilization was on the fritz. Thematically, quantum mechanics works very well as something to explore in this case, since victims of the crash and subsequent crisis were randomly destroyed, sent wildly off course into hostile space, or even ended up on other planes or even alternate material planes!

I could go on about how I disliked the Drift Crisis on principle, but I’ll just leave it at that for today. Suffice to say that I’ve been burned by setting-spanning events that leave the assumptions about the setting changed even after things settle down.

In any case, as we’ll soon see, these vanguards prove exactly what they can do with the chaotic energies of the quantum, which in some ways reminds me a bit of how witchwarpers tap into alternate realities and possibilities.

What is and what is not are blurry for these vanguards, making them surprisingly gifted liars. Furthermore, their focus on ever-changing states makes it easy for them to forcibly reposition foes.

Whether it is their own reactions or being forced to move or act by foes, these vanguards are changed by the interaction with other actors and observers, letting them squeeze a little more entropic power out of such acts.

The effects of quantum particles changing state on the matter that they form is not fully understood, but with an expenditure of energy or as part of a release upon being heavily injured, these vanguards can suffuse their surroundings with energy that warps reality and twists the properties of the terrain, making it difficult to traverse as the matter might break off in sheets, liquify, lose friction, and other strange effects. What’s more, the snap-back when reality reasserts itself is strong enough to throw off aim. Meanwhile, the improved version of the ability causes floors and walls to bond to those standing on or touching them, temporarily impeding movement for a few moments.

Finally, powerful vanguards that have this aspect as their primary can disentangle hostile weapons that strike them from normal reality, damaging or even breaking such weapons as they are shunted into the quantum.

A vanguard with this aspect loves their forced movement, reactions, and hindering foes, so a maneuver and battlefield control build is preferable. Definitely pick up weapons and upgrades for entropic strike that make it easier to take control of the battle and debuff foes.

As I mentioned briefly before, it would not surprise me if there was a connection between this aspect and the power of witchwarpers. Perhaps some of these warriors might have latent witchwarping powers, or studied witchwarping to develop the aspect. Either way, much like the reality-warping mages they probably share a similar worldview, having a fluid idea of what is and what might be.

It was hundreds of years of slumber in a flawed demiplane that transform the shatori into nearly immortal, but  sterile and eerie beings, their flesh altered to be nearly transluscent and their bones limned with light. Many are content to share their knowledge with others to better the universe around them. However, a shatori vanguard named. Lixos believes that by better understanding how the properties of their bodies were altered, it may be possible to reverse the process and restore their people to a more mortal, but vibrant future.

Rumors of strange sights and sounds have been reported in the abandoned housing projects of Beos Waystation. Paranormal investigators are called, but the sources of these disturbances is a young child who ran away from home after her powers over entropy and quantum mechanics awakened. Now, they are terrified of hurting someone with their newfound power.

Coming back from an all-Ives concert we’d attended in Connecticut, Minna Lederman said that by separating his insurance business from his composition of music (as completely as day is separated from night), Ives paid full respect to the American assumption that the artist has no place in society. (When Mother first heard my percussion quartet years ago in Santa Monica, she said, “I enjoyed it, but where are you going to put it?”) But music is, or was at one time, America’s sixth-largest industry — above or below steel, I don’t remember which. Schoenberg used to say that the movie composers knew their business very well. Once he asked those in the class who intended to become professional musicians to put up their hands. No one did. (Uncle Walter insisted when he married her that Aunt Marge, who was a contralto, should give up her career.) My bet is that the phenomenal prices paid for paintings in New York at the present time have less to do with art than with business. The lady who lived next door in Santa Monica told me the painting she had in her dining room was worth lots of money. She mentioned an astronomical sum. I said, “How do you know?” She said she’d seen a small painting worth a certain amount, measured it, measured hers (which was much larger), multiplied, and that was that.

~ Susan Howe,