Quite
some time from now, we will have the computer capacity to calculate
the exact position and momentum of every atom in the brain. At some
point, we will also be able to calculate every atom in the entire
world, and indeed the universe. For the sake of convenience I shall
call the device which shall do this : Pandora's
Machine.
Pandora's machine will have the capacity to calculate
the exact position and momentum of every macro atomic particle in
the history of the universe by reverse-engineering from its current
status. It would then be able to predict the future with absolute
certainty by merely calculating its forward position in time based
on its current position and momentum. Every atom will be taken into
account.
It would need to be a quantum computer, storing its data in units
far below the size of an atom.
For the sake of the narrative, it is being suggested that two scientists,
a husband and wife team, Brian and Mindy are selected to give Pandora's
Machine a test run, some time in the late 29th century.
Pandora's machine will also have a convenient wide-inch screen and
voice recognition operating system so that we can simply say : recreate
the court of King Henry VIIIth so it can be seen what really happened.
Mindy has always wondered about this, and on the first test run, it
is concluded that Henry VIIIth was indeed a barbaric wife-eater.
Brian, is less ambitious. He merely asks Pandora's Machine to look
forward to next Saturday so he can see if his cricket team will make
it to the grand final of the tournament he is watching. He will then
be able to buy tickets in advance at a reduced rate, knowing his team
will be in the competition. Being a good sport, he does not check
the result of the final game itself, so he can enjoy the game for
real in the sunshine at St Georges Park, Port Elizabeth.
His team
will make the finals, he is told by Pandora's machine, and when Mindy
tells him it is also their 25th wedding anniversary on the day of
the final, he is in the usual predicament.
Mindy logs on to Pandora's machine a bit later, and sees the results
of Brian's search. She is not deterred from her anniversary plans.
Being an influential and wealthy person, a globally known scientist,
and also a woman, she travels to the semi-finals and bribes the umpire
to ensure that Brian's team loses the crucial semi-final game, amidst
a controversy of numerous leg-before-wicket decisions from the duck-pond
end.
That Saturday, Brian is thwarted as his team is not in the final.
So instead he has to spend the entire Saturday smiling at Mindy's
friends, sipping tea, eating croissants, and talking about what a
lovely sunny day it is outside.
And this is why, it is not possible for the entire universe to be
precisely determined. No fair woman or fair sportsman would ever accept
such a possibility. It just wouldn't be cricket.
