Alright, it sounds like we’re veering into the territory of formal definitions, language precision, and experimental clarity here. Let’s connect this back to the crux of the argument on free will and conservation laws.godelian wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 1:41 pmDefinitions are practically usable when they are expressed in a formal language and are machine readable. This guarantees that they have a unique reading:Age wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 8:47 amExcept they will use words, in explaining what they did, and all words carry with them a 'definition', and, well according to you anyway, a definition is just a so-called 'word salad'.godelian wrote: ↑Wed Nov 13, 2024 8:03 am
The definition that they use will be implicit in the input variables that they seek to control as well as the resulting output variables of their experimental test. At that point, we can check if these variables truly measure what they are purported to measure. Asking for an experimental test report therefore solves all these problems. In the end, a definition is just a word salad. It is much more interesting to look at what they actually did in a lab setting.
So, where do you suggest one starts, exactly, if words, and thus definitions, are just 'salad', to you?
Definitions in natural language are just commentary. They are merely meant to elucidate a particular concept for teaching purposes, but are not effectively actionable, and certainly not guaranteed to be unambiguous.2.1.4: Unique Readability
The way we defined formulas guarantees that every formula has a unique reading, i.e., there is essentially only one way of constructing it according to our formation rules for formulas and only one way of “interpreting” it. If this were not so, we would have ambiguous formulas, i.e., formulas that have more than one reading or interpretation—and that is clearly something we want to avoid.
Even though natural language is certainly the best format for teaching purposes, it is not a good carrier for precise and unambiguous definitions. The scientific researchers may produce explanations that include definitions, but these things cannot overrule the actual data and machine configurations used and obtained from their experimental test setup.https://www.directimpactsolutions.com/e ... -comments/
Why are most comments bad?
Most comments are bad because developers can’t realistically maintain them. Over time, comments can become inaccurate and misleading, which is worse than not having comments.
You’re correct that formal language can ensure precision, especially in scientific contexts where ambiguity undermines reproducibility. But when it comes to foundational principles like conservation laws, this isn’t simply a matter of ambiguous or interpretative language. Conservation laws themselves *are* formalized in physics—expressed mathematically in ways that leave little room for alternative interpretations. These laws are confirmed by a mountain of consistent data across various contexts, essentially machine-readable as mathematical statements that hold up under all testing conditions.
What we’re discussing, then, isn’t an issue of needing a new formalism to “redefine” conservation laws or free will but rather a need for experimental evidence that would violate these well-established laws. A scientific claim that “free will” operates outside these principles would, in fact, need to produce data where energy or momentum changes occur without a physical source. This isn’t about finding a clearer way to define free will or conservation in formal language but about confronting physical reality as it’s measured and observed.
If there’s no reproducible evidence of free will operating independently of deterministic physical processes, the burden remains on those proposing such an influence to demonstrate it within the frameworks that already govern scientific inquiry.