epädeterminististen

Epädeterministinen is a Finnish word that translates to "non-deterministic" in English. This term is most commonly used in the fields of computer science and theoretical physics. In computer science, a non-deterministic algorithm is one that can exhibit different behaviors on the same input. This means that for a given input, there might be multiple possible paths the computation can take, and not all paths may lead to the same output or terminate. This contrasts with deterministic algorithms, where for any given input, the sequence of operations is always the same, leading to a single, predictable outcome. Non-deterministic machines, like non-deterministic finite automata (NFAs) or non-deterministic Turing machines, are theoretical models that can explore multiple computation paths simultaneously.

In theoretical physics, particularly in quantum mechanics, the term non-deterministic is used to describe phenomena that appear to be inherently random or probabilistic. For instance, the outcome of a quantum measurement is not predictable with certainty before the measurement is made; instead, quantum mechanics provides probabilities for different possible outcomes. This inherent randomness is a fundamental aspect of quantum theory, distinguishing it from classical physics where, in principle, all future states can be predicted if the initial conditions are known precisely. The concept of non-determinism in physics raises philosophical questions about causality and the nature of reality.