Why we cannot calculate the future, even when taking every single variable into account

Question

Why we cannot calculate the future, even when taking every single variable into account

In: Physics

Answer 1

Several problems:

First Heisenbergs Uncertainty states we can’t know exact data, it’s simply not defined to infinite precision. Quantum effects are naturally propabilistic.

Second even if we could we can’t store infinite precision numbers. Lets start with just a single variable, the temperature at the exact northpole at midnight today. Okay lets take a billion digits after the decimal point. It’s still not perfectly exact. And what about the temperature exactly 1 atomic radius to the left?

There aren’t enough atoms in the universe to store the information of all physical properties of all atoms in the universe.

So we need to make concessions about precision. And small deviations often grow exponentially so that even with very precise data the prediction becomes imprecise after a very short time.