Question

Let’s take the example of a bird landing on a tree branch. Suppose now that one knew everything there is about the universe billions of years before the bird landed, like Laplace’s demon.

Given this, can one predict, with certainty, whether or not the bird will land on that particular tree branch in that same spot with a probability of 0 or 1? If not, can one atleast very nearly or approximately figure out whether this event will occur?

From what I’ve read, quantum phenomena may be indeterministic. But I’ve also read that for most macro scale events, the indeterminacy at a smaller scale "adds up" and may be washed out resulting in determinism.

However, this doesn’t include events that are very sensitive to initial conditions. For those events, it is argued that the indeterminacy of quantum phenomena can travel up to the macro scale.

Is an example of a bird landing on a tree branch one of these events or not? What kinds of events fall under this?

Answer 1

According to quantum mechanics, it is not possible to predict with certainty whether a bird will land on a specific tree branch. The landing of a bird on a tree branch falls under the category of chaotic systems, where small changes in initial conditions can lead to significantly different outcomes.

Step-by-step explanation:

According to the principles of quantum mechanics, it is not possible to predict with certainty whether or not a bird will land on a particular tree branch in a particular spot with a probability of 0 or 1. Quantum phenomena are indeterministic, meaning that they involve inherent uncertainty and probabilities rather than definite outcomes. While for most macro scale events, the indeterminacy at a smaller scale may be washed out resulting in determinism, events that are very sensitive to initial conditions, such as the landing of a bird on a tree branch, may be influenced by the indeterminacy of quantum phenomena. Such events fall under the category of chaotic systems, where small changes in initial conditions can lead to significantly different outcomes.