The very many questions-not-worth-their-own-thread question thread XXVIII

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What books could be described as "Cardinal of the Kremlin set in the 21st century"?
 
^ Yes. The question had me confused for a bit as well.

Mr ICBM is asking, I think, whether there are any books with similar themes to Tom Clancy's book, but set in the present century.
 
I'm guessing that the background to this 'question' is not going to be any different to any of your other enquiries.
 
Metaphysics this time though. At least theoretical physics and such. Without greater specificity, right?
 
I'm guessing that the background to this 'question' is not going to be any different to any of your other enquiries.
That was my first thought, too. I bet it's something to do with evolution and intelligent design.

I don't know the best way to answer the question, though.
 
Is the scientific answer for why everything happens in nature is that it's just a coincidence?
Strictly speaking science has nothing to say about it whatsoever. There is no science of why everything happens, because we do not know why the laws of nature are what they are.
It would be very unscientific to claim that we did.

However, it is scientific consensus that within the constraints of natural law and the universe we are given it all is up to coincidence. So I think I can give you a conditional yes.
 
Strictly speaking science has nothing to say about it whatsoever. There is no science of why everything happens, because we do not know why the laws of nature are what they are.
It would be very unscientific to claim that we did.

That said, for all intends and purposes, to not believe in intend and to believe in coincidence are pretty much the same thing. So in practical terms I think the answer is yes. But strictly speaking, the answer is no.

On a grand scale the answer may be 'yes' - or at least, guided coincidence - but on a small scale it's definitely not. It's guided (if only by the anthropic principle) coincidence that the force of gravity is 10N/Kg, but it's not coincidence every time you throw something and it lands.

Evolution rather works the same way. As far as we know there's no real logic to when and how mutations happen, but there definitely is a logic to which potential babies die in the womb, which die in childhood and which have a competitive advantage over their peers. So the end result is definitely not coincidence.
 
Obviously when we say "this is a coincidence" we don't mean to say "this is magic!".

So it is always a qualified rather than absolute lack of a causal link. And the quality is a link which we can/should foresee.
"I met her by coincidence" does not mean I met her because she just appeared out of nothing for no reason but that I could not have foreseen doing so because there was no specific reason for me to do so

So a link which is relevant to our intentions. :P
 
No. In practically all cases, events have causes and we know what those causes are. In practically all other cases, we're sure that there is a cause but we haven't worked it out yet. May I suggest you find other topics of conversation with these people?
 
Every conversation with them seems to end up with them proving how much of an idiot I am, and that I'm wrong about everything, even with simple little things.
 
Which just goes to show how they're just a bunch of idiots, Mr Husky.

No reasonable conversationalist has the purpose of showing his interlocutor to be an idiot.
 
No. In practically all cases, events have causes
But how those causes collide is a matter of coincidence. So yes! :D
No reasonable conversationalist has the purpose of showing his interlocutor to be an idiot.
:lmao:
On the Internet, that is a very of your environment unconscious thing to say.
 
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