What I found most surprising from the conversation between Prof. Goodman, Prof. Rayo, Cassandra, and Elizabeth was their discussion about the relationship between prediction, morality, and free will. I had never considered that if someone's actions can be predicted with complete certainty and accuracy, their future could be considered pre-determined, and following that logic, they could be considered to lack free will. I had always linked determinism and lack of free will as synonymous, and hearing Prof. Rayo unpack the nuances of those terms was really interesting.
I would love to ask Prof. Rayo what he thinks of the classic time travel paradox: say you see into the future and see that you're going to choke to death on a Twinkie, so you decide never to eat Twinkies again. So then how did you see into the future and see you were going to choke to death on a Twinkie in the first place? Of course, this is a theoretical rather than an actual possibility, but the discussion reminded me of the butterfly effect and how every choice opens up infinite possibilities and closes off infinite others. I also think the counterfactual is a really intriguing angle and under-utilized tool in prediction.
On a more practical note, I wonder what Prof. Rayo's advice would be for how we can communicate statistics more effectively to the average person?