The History and Eschatology of Surprise

Once upon a time

There was a big bang.

Surprise!

The world spins,

Reeling from creation.

Space spirals out of chaos –

Into control.

Omniscience trumps surprise.

The feather falls –

It’s anything but random.

The air swirls in strict sequence,

Determined to direct.

I can’t say I’m surprised.

This Post Might Be A Bit Free Willy

So, do I believe in free will?

Yes.

However, I also believe in Forrest Gump’s feather – that although the fall of the feather appears random to the casual observer – it is not.

If you knew every gust of wind, the motion of every molecule in the almosphere at that particular moment – the feather would fall the same way.

Because as you know, if you sook out the air from the picture, the feather falls straight down. Like a stone.

This is why I think that omniscience trumps surprise.

If you know EVERYTHING at any point in time you would be able to figure out EVERYTHING that will ever happen. EVER.

This would seem to point to a touch of inevitability about everything.

But it doesn’t.

If I put out tuna, cheese and ham sandwiches for the lunch and my three children come in I “know” which child will choose each sandwich. They will choose out of their own free will. They could throw me a googly and pick something random and off piste, should they choose to do so. But they won’t.

I make no claim to be omniscient.

But some things I know.

Knowledge does not affect the free will behind the choice.