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From: dutton@teaching.physics.ox.ac.uk (Adrian P Dutton)
Subject: Re: Randomness is a human concept (was Re: Time is a human concept)
Message-ID: <1994Oct30.160017.676@inca.comlab.ox.ac.uk>
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References: <367dn4$ls@euskadi.idbsu.edu>  <1994Oct13.135253.21576@galileo.cc.rochester.edu> <38qhnm$117@whitbeck.ncl.ac.uk>
Date: 30 Oct 94 15:52:49 GMT
Lines: 33

n4521558 (Rob.Smith@ncl.ac.uk) wrote:
: In article <1994Oct13.135253.21576@galileo.cc.rochester.edu>, stevens@prodigal.psych.rochester.edu (Greg Stevens) says:
: >
: >In <1994Oct8.025507.11036@cabell.vcu.edu> has2bec@cabell.vcu.edu (Brooke E. Colquhoun) writes:

: >I think it's funny that you say RONDOMNESS is a human concept, when I
: >would have intuitively stated it as PATTERN is a human concept (pattern
: >being the opposite of randomness).
: >

: If randomness ISN'T s humsn concept, then where is it?

Any word or concept you care to mention is obviuosly a human one, since it
is human in origin. However,  there may be some metaphysical reallity behind
the concept in question.

: Can you honestly say that you can find something truly rsndom, or
: are 'random' processes governed by very complex non-linear but
: deterministic laws?

Have you ever heard of Quantum Mechanics ?!?  Do the words uncertancy 
principal ring any bells? Quantum processes are inhearently undeterministic.

: It is the desire of the human to form patterns that has created
: randomness, in the form of probability - we judge situations/
: future events on a subjective probabilistic basis, and call the
: process for 'choosing' between these alternatives 'random'.

: Rob Smith.


Adrian.

