Tom
You were correct to point out that what Georgina said was about 'internal processing'. But it is certainly not "one real dynamic system". That is all about perception, or any other suitable label that describes the articulated output. And as I hinted (and have overtly said previously): this has nothing whatsoever to do with the processing of physical input. This is physics. A physically existent phenomena is RECEIVED, assuming the sensory system is in the line of travel. That physically existent phenomena (aka light, vibration, noise, etc) results from an interaction with other physically existent phenomena (aka existent physical reality). So the phenomena received are, from the perspective of the recipient system (aka eye, brain, memory, etc), a representation of that existent reality (though what is received is, of itself, existent).
So, can we please stop talking about observation, etc, etc, and stick to the plot. Which is, what are those phenomena that we receive, how do they work, and hence what caused them?
"That's a tiny example of how the future affects the past in a network where a link always has the potential to be erased."
Not so. It is an example of how you are conflating all the different levels. There is no network, other than a perceived one in some people's heads. The future does not physically exist. Nothing influences the future, because it is not there to be influenced. Neither can it therefore have any influence. All that happens is that a different event occurs from what would otherwise have done so. But this is a meaningless statement, because every event that occurs is a function of some combination of factors that were previously existent.
"Or not. David Hume expended a lot of effort explaining that evidence of the sun rising x days in a row does not guarantee that it will rise at x 1."
That is because he, and many others who waffle on, has confused the metaphysical possibilities with the knowledge (as in provable) we can have. Logically there is a possibility of everything. But because we exist and detect, we can only have knowledge of a particular form of existence. Whether existence exists in other forms is irrelevant, because we can never know. So that is something else you don't need to worry about.
Paul
