Philosophy Now Forum

Raymond Tallis breaks down the ultimate breakdown.

https://philosophynow.org/issues/158/An_Itsy-Bitsy_Universe

“The universe gives birth to consciousness, and consciousness gives meaning to the universe.” John Wheeler

And that explains what exactly?

I haven't had the time to fully read the article yet, but every decision we make is binary.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 2:55 pm I haven't had the time to fully read the article yet, but every decision we make is binary.

There are three women in a small workshop you are taking. You are interested in all three. You decide to ask out Veronica.
You are walking through the woods and come to a crossing of four paths. You are also a bit tired. You could take one of the three paths you are not on. You could go back.
You go to Ben and Jerry's to get an ice cream cone. There are 28 flavors and 17 toppings.
You come home and want to put on some music, you have 28 million choices online.

iambiguous wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 4:21 am “The universe gives birth to consciousness, and consciousness gives meaning to the universe.” John Wheeler

And that explains what exactly?

Was that in the article?

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:19 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 2:55 pm I haven't had the time to fully read the article yet, but every decision we make is binary.

There are three women in a small workshop you are taking. You are interested in all three. You decide to ask out Veronica.
You are walking through the woods and come to a crossing of four paths. You are also a bit tired. You could take one of the three paths you are not on. You could go back.
You go to Ben and Jerry's to get an ice cream cone. There are 28 flavors and 17 toppings.
You come home and want to put on some music, you have 28 million choices online.

Your'e going to lose on this debate mate.

Every choice, there is a final one and it's THAT one that is the binary - yay or nay.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:23 pm Every choice, there is a final one and it's THAT one that is the binary - yay or nay.

Well, that's one way to interpret it.

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:45 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:23 pm

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:19 pm
There are three women in a small workshop you are taking. You are interested in all three. You decide to ask out Veronica.
You are walking through the woods and come to a crossing of four paths. You are also a bit tired. You could take one of the three paths you are not on. You could go back.
You go to Ben and Jerry's to get an ice cream cone. There are 28 flavors and 17 toppings.
You come home and want to put on some music, you have 28 million choices online.

Your'e going to lose on this debate mate.

Every choice, there is a final one and it's THAT one that is the binary - yay or nay.

so, one thing is binary.

EVERY decision is binary.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:48 pm

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:45 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:23 pm

Your'e going to lose on this debate mate.

Every choice, there is a final one and it's THAT one that is the binary - yay or nay.

so, one thing is binary.

EVERY decision is binary.

I can see thinking of it that way. Though I am not sure what advantage it gives. It's an after the decision way of viewing it. I could have not done this, but I did it.

If I am faced with a decision, sometimes it is binary, sometimes I have more options.
And sometimes nay is not on the table. We are in motion and must choose from a range. There's not not choosing option. I have to choose one out of many.

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:53 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:48 pm

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 5:45 pm
so, one thing is binary.

EVERY decision is binary.

I can see thinking of it that way. Though I am not sure what advantage it gives. It's an after the decision way of viewing it. I could have not done this, but I did it.

If I am faced with a decision, sometimes it is binary, sometimes I have more options.
And sometimes nay is not on the table. We are in motion and must choose from a range. There's not not choosing option. I have to choose one out of many.

You could be given 1000 choices to choose from, but the moment you actually make the choice, it IS binary.

Try and give an example where you make an actual choice and it didn't have a binary qualifier.

A binary decision is a choice between

two

alternatives, for instance between taking some specific action or not taking it.[1]

Binary decisions are basic to many fields. Examples include:

Truth values in mathematical logic, and the corresponding Boolean data type in computer science, representing a value which may be chosen to be either true or false.[2]
Conditional statements (if-then or if-then-else) in computer science, binary decisions about which piece of code to execute next.[3]
Decision trees and binary decision diagrams, representations for sequences of binary decisions.[4]
Binary choice, a statistical model for the outcome of a binary decision.[5]

My bold.

In general I find it a better match for my experience to see things as a range of options and also degrees/qualities can fall on a spectrum. And even looking backward, after the degrees, I see it as one choice (including the way I did it an intensity) as amongst many options. There are moments that do seem limited to a yes no. But if I begin to think there are two options or everything is binary, I think this is limiting. Yes, whatever I choose I might not of chosen to do. So, I am not denying that view. But I find the other much more useful.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:07 pm You could be given 1000 choices to choose from, but the moment you actually make the choice, it IS binary.

You are making the choice. It's no binary. One thing is happening. Before the choice, many options. When deciding, monary. One can look back and imagine that you might nto have made that choice. And think, then, about it in a binary way. Sometimes before, there are only two options you consider. Sometimes there is either doing X or not.

But in many situations I have many options. So, I prefer to view decisions as not limited to binary options.

If we go back to the original statement

EVERY decision is binary.

The decision is only what it is and that is single.
Unless of course you choose to guard two people in basketball and can't manage and they are both open. So you ended up not guarding either one quite.

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:12 pm But in many situations I have many options. So, I prefer to view decisions as not limited to binary options.

Many options matter not, many decisions to chose from (plural) then ultimately when you decide, you are making a decision that is binary.

There is NO choice made that is not binary, you either decide on THIS option or THAT option. There is no getting around this.

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:20 pm Many options matter not, many decisions to chose from (plural) then ultimately when you decide, you are making a decision that is binary.

When you make a decision you do one thing. It's not binary. It has collapsed into whatever choice you made.

There is NO choice made that is not binary, you either decide on THIS option or THAT option. There is no getting around this.

You're not integrating what I am saying into your answers. You are more or less repeating your position. I granted that the way you are looking at it has truth to it. But then I pointed out why I choose not to think of it as binary, especially before when I am faced with more than two options.

Iwannaplato wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:24 pm

attofishpi wrote: ↑Tue Dec 05, 2023 6:20 pm Many options matter not, many decisions to chose from (plural) then ultimately when you decide, you are making a decision that is binary.

When you make a decision you do one thing. It's not binary. It has collapsed into whatever choice you made.

That (one thing) choice you made is binary, it's a YES to decide on it or a NO to decide on it.