is our future already written - in part?

that is an interesting concept. Sometimes I have a feeling or thought that we had some sort of ''choice'' before we were born but forgot about everything that was ''before''... if we knew, perhaps life wouldn't be a challenge anymore. However, ''outside'' or even inside influence could prevent us from finding our destiny for a very long time. We both believe in Jesus even though we may interpret his origin differently. He certainly knew his destiny but he also feared it. Perhaps it is the destiny of all living beings to fulfil some sort of task that will lead them (or not) to the next level of consciousness. The common goal might be to change this world into one where all living beings live in peace with each other and where caring about others is more important than caring about ourselves. The paths that are laid out by those who want to rule us probably makes a lot of people go astray though. And time to achieve the goal is limited.

Fair enough. The 'leading astray' part you will also find is also written into our destiny & though the time seems limited, it is indeed sufficient.

perhaps my destiny is to be always running out of time :D

Yes, by a psychic! Uncovering it could change it, but maybe not. It is written but can be changed.

hmm, interesting point! Your stance is more moderate than those further below which see future as something that cannot be changed. Strangely though, our past future seems indeed to be unchangeable. But is that also true for the coming future, who knows?

the question is: if your future is written, can it be read? If yes, then how? And if not, can we still say it is written... perhaps it's accessible somehow but if so wouldn't the mere act of ''uncovering'' it change it at the same time? There are situations in which it seems that - at least the near - future is indeed ''written'' and this is why I initially started the discussion.

yes, that would be the consquence, we'd be robots. However, my question was if it could be written in part, i.e. for a certain amount of time ahead like seconds, minutes or even longer. I've had a couple of experiences which seem to indicate that, like ''seeing'' things to come without actually attempting to see them. Perhaps certain events ''announce'' themselves beforehand and we might - through some sort of unknown mecanism - be able to receive such ''signals''. I think that the more dependent we are the more our future is pre-determined. We'd have much more choices if there were not the daily constraints like having to go to work and earn money and having to do what economy commands. There would be much more self-fulfillment if we were self-supporters living consistent with nature. That's just my view or feeling what it should be like. I know it sounds utopian but it could become true someday.

that's a bold claim. But how do you resolve the issue of infinity, i.e. the probable fact that there is no beginning and no end? For a predefined history of things you always need starting conditions. So unless everything runs in a permanent cycle how do you resolve this?

by ''cycle'' I mean the repitition of events, i.e. the repetition of an expanding and contracting universe although - afaik - current data suggests that the universe will expand indefinitely. I'm not a religious person either as religion needs one or more deities (and well, I don't believe in rule). Still I don't think that life is only about life on Earth. I'm convinced that afterlife exists and that there's a realm beyond what we can measure which may be much more important than what we can see. But that's a different topic :-) It is (probably) true that time and space began to exist with the big bang - at least that's what science suggests. However, if time and space were the only two variables which matter then why should both come into being out of nothingness at all? Something must have initiated that and since time and space didn't exist it must have been ''something'' beyond that ''created'' both unless - as I said earlier - there's some sort of cycle (repition) in progress. Both however would mean a continued existence of that ''something'', one without a beginning and without an end. Supposedly that ''something'' is - imho - consciousness or souls and spirits if you will. It would exist seperately from time and space but it would be able to alter, influence, create and destroy it - to some extent at least. And the extent to which those changes are effective would depend on the evolution of that consciousness or the evolution of our minds so to speak. In a way the past and the future do not exist. We cannot ''access'' it directly. What exists is the present. But since time progresses each present has a ''predecessor'' and a successor. The present couldn't exist if there had been no past and the future couldn't exist if there was no present. We could also bring Einstein's theory of relativity into play here which states that time and space are relative. Each object in space would have its own time and it's own space but ''communication'' between all objects takes place via electromagnetic signals (be it light, radio waves, gravitation, direct contact or whatever interaction you can imagine). And matter may be nothing more than ''condensed electromagnetic waves''. So in a way everything is connected and interwoven, nothing can ''escape'' this universe except our minds perhaps and it is that which - imo - controls matter (mind over matter :D).

I think your viewpoint has a more mathematical/ scientific touch. And imo it is indeed a possibility that everything could - in theory - be calculated/ predicted (even thoughts) if only there was inifinite time to make those calculations/ predictions as an example I recently calculated the number of possible pixel color combinations of a pixel matrix of 2x2=4 pixels with the RGB standard (255 tones each) and I was overwhelmed by the huge number of possibilities It would be ((255³)²)² = 75593101654204447168212890625 combinations. I don't even know what that number is called in English Perhaps the question itself therefore cannot be answered as there are too many possibilities which can never be calculated by anyone at any time within the lifetime of the universe or as you put it, there are too many variables. But if that is so maybe this is what we could call an undefined future or unwritten history. It could also be completely different. If there was some time-independent way to ''calculate'' or predict things we would have to rethink the issue.

I agree, the big events are (supposedly) hard or even impossible to change. From a physical point of view it always depends on how much energy is available. To prevent the collapse of a star for example one would need more energy than is available for the collapse to prevent the same. As for the collapse or the big bang of the universe one would need more energy than the energy of the universe, so that would probably be an ultimate impossibility :D

I think we can talk about an undefinied future, due to the many causes that generates it. That's why we are free, and not just particles that submit to the nature law of causality. But there are also big events, generated by strong causes, that can be changed only in form, but not in essence. Like the end of the world, if you adhere to the christian cosmology.

the question is pre-decided by what or whom. Often people don't have it in their own hands. Others work hard and still don't get what they want or work for nothing at all coz they've been taken everything away. But it's true, we have to develop and work hard, especially on our minds, to at least try and achieve something. I agree, we can change pre-defined plans or structures and that needs energy. Some things also have to change back to where they were before because they shouldn't have been changed in the first place. Destruction of our planet just being an example.

perhaps it is the power of our minds that can break the ''cycle''. The thing about the ''near future'' I just figured is that a more distant point in future will be a less distant, i.e. a nearer one in a future that is closer to that more distant future first mentioned. So, I guess this makes the whole issue more complicated. Perhaps it is our decisions that we take now that will affect events more in the far future than in the near future..

cause and effect - a very important principle of physics. If taken for real I think that this also means that there is no beginning and no end because what would have caused the beginning or which cause would have no effect? But if that is so that would be another reason why it is impossible to calculate everything as there are no initial conditions. We always have to look at ''isolated'' systems to make reliable predictions.

yeah, isn't it? Your's, too btw, that looks like one healthy little pig . Yes, some (see above) say though that God is the one who pre-defined / wrote our lifes and all decisions we make. I find your view much more ''comfortable''. For me it's also hard to imagine that future is something that has been chiseled in stone. However, the reason why I started this topic and in particular added the term ''in part'' to it was that I have had a couple of experiences where in some way it seemed I was able to predict events without actually thinking about it and so I wonder if this happens just by accident or how that can be if future is a totally unwritten thing. But often enough things turn out totally different than expected. If for instance you expect there to be a certain number of possibilities for things to develop into certain directions then sometimes they develop into a direction that does not equal ANY of the possibilities considered. And I guess this could indicate that future is not as certain as it might seem.

I think that there are some things that can be considered as part of our fate and which we all have in common: we live, we die, we change things, we interact with others. Certainly there are many other things that can be attributed to our fates. But is really everything that we do and say predefined? Can we influence our fate?

Yes, we are all limited by our own genes and by the strength of our bodies. There are people which simply won't be able to traverse the obstacles set into their paths. And some don't even get an opportunity to do so. Others may have a strong mind but are too weak to translate that strength into reality. So ''energy'' - be it physical or ''metaphysical'' - is probably the main factor in achieving things.