Quote from Wayne Angel on August 28, 2022, 5:00 pm

Of course we can. We do it every day. We even behave in such as manner as to make much of our behavior very predictable. There are some physical systems that can be predicted very accurately. The important question is not can we predict, rather what is the accuracy or reliability of our predictions?

There are some systems that are only predictable in a statistical sense; the roll of the dice, the spin of the roulette wheel, etc. But, it is a useful prediction to know that in the flip of a coin, heads will occur 50% of the time.

Systems can enter a formal mathematical state called chaotic. When this happens the predictability drops dramatically. But knowing, this is the case can be useful.