Digesting a Whopper! Page one
	Coming into contact with the concept of hard determinism for the first time is a mind-boggling encounter.  Then, when hard determinism is presented as a plausible explanation for universal experience, circuits blow and the baby, the tub, the bath water, the soap, the wash rag and towel are all thrown out the window amidst thoughts of jumping out the window yourself!  All of a sudden changing from a dignified responsible adult into a puppet is a tough pill to swallow and is naturally met with stiff opposition.  With this in mind, and the water being so hot, let’s take an incremental approach, a gradual submersion into the milieu. The phrase, mathematic laws of physics given meaning through the cause and effect continuum, was used several times in the previous essays.  These dozen words describe the foundational premise of our existence.  It expands the concept of hard determinism into meaningful little tidbits, which, when addressed individually and then reunited in the stomach have a better chance of getting into the bloodstream, than shoving the whole Burger King Whopper into the mouth all at once.  Let’s examine each tidbit one at a time and attempt reconciliation. Mathematic: This discipline is a tool of discovery and the blending of Truth and logic.  Mathematics does not create Truth through logic; it discovers Truth through logical processes. Mathematics is a slave to Truth.  To amble about within its borders demands a severe logic.  Quantitative elements may be manipulated, restructured, simplified or qualified by whatever logical means one is able to master as long as the equal sign is obeyed.  Once logic has revealed a Truth, that Truth will be understood until the end of time, or until man forgets.  Understood or unknown, remembered or forgotten, the Truth remains unfazed. Laws: These are established standards that guide activities.  When combined with the term, mathematic, it represents established standards of Truth.  In the social science sense, laws are standards established by man, which can be amended or simply done away with.  In the mathematic sense, laws are standards established apart from man which cannot be amended or abolished. They simply are, were and will be. Mathematic laws are tamper proof, dependable, solid, hard, absolutely unchanging and in a sense, warmly reassuring. Physics: This is the discipline which examines the dynamics of the physical world.  It is a quantitative science concerned with elemental and gargantuan experience.  Physics strives to explain natural phenomenon such as gravity, mass, atomic structure, systems, galaxies, black holes, electromagnetic radiation, and a plethora of other naturally occurring relationships throughout the universe using observation and measurement. Thus, physics provides the mathematician with a profusion of numbers. It seems to have an unending supply.  Physics provides a context in which mathematicians and physicists can wander about seeking diamonds of Truth . When combined in the phrase, mathematic laws of physics, these words represent the unyielding governing force, the established universal constitution, which determines both inorganic and organic behavior through the inescapable physical realm. It is what the word, hard, in hard determinism alludes to.  Unforgiving.  Harsh.  Unyielding.  Inflexible.  Deaf.  Mute.  Without feelings.   Were there the possibility of random, autonomous events, not only would this silly little Unified Theory dissolve like a cracker in the sea, but all classification systems would become useless, the scientific method would have no foundation, the realm of mathematics would crumble into a meaningless pile of symbols, and the world as we know it would no longer exist. Orderliness, repeatability and predictability would be impossible.  The phrase, mathematic laws of physics, signifies an established, non-negotiable set of rules by which the game of life will be played.   No small accomplishment for three nouns and a preposition.! Given meaning through: This is the medium allowing the pigments to flow; allowing the ideal to be made real.  It is what the contractor does after reading the blueprints, what the master musicians do with all those crazy squiggles, dots and lines. This is the theoretical, given life. Cause and effect: The simplest of systems; an event; one cause, one effect.  Nothing comes from nothing.  Without a cause, there will be no effect.  One cannot have an effect except something caused it.  Unlike the chicken and the egg conundrum, there can be no confusion or argument; the cause came before the effect.  To have one, there must be the other.  Cause and effect; an elemental pattern common to all experience. Continuum:  a process which seems to have had no beginning, and seemingly will have no end.  A process which continues indefinitely; an unending sequential string of related events proceeding on, and on, and on, and on. The phrase, mathematic laws of physics given meaning through the cause and effect continuum, can be restated as, an established, unyielding, universal constitution for the physical world given credible life through an unending series of decidedly sequential events. There is nothing whimsical about it. It is unfazed by contrary philosophies. It is unimpressed with the names of great thinkers, whether they agree or disagree.  Liking it or not liking it is inconsequential. It will not adjust to our wants, but, it is the infinite storehouse to which we must go to fulfill our every need.
			Digesting a Whopper! Page two