Contrast with "Butterfly effect": how can you know the fall of the tree will not be needed for future events?
If you assume the VR programmer is able to determine it in advance, then what would be the motivation behind the simulation?

To me, it's more likely that the VR tree failing will still produce a VR sound; to determine the evolution of the system, it is more likely the programmer does not have any solution with a "lower cost" than actually running the simulation.

Is there anything like tunneling very high but narrow barriers?

(practical example: consider some movement differential equations for a system of particles which you solve numerically. Suppose now that you need to restrict the particles inside a box. Model the box as a potential function that increases sharply on the boundary; be careful, if the potential barrier is narrow enough relatively to you "integration quanta" - the step h you choose in integrating the DE system - some particles will "escape" the box even at energies lower than the maximum potential barrier).

You reckon, being metanational, is more american or asian than it is french/european?
Or... let me put it this way... a metanational able to buy Bell Labs and with the top officers named Michel Combes, Philippe Camus, Ben Verwaayen and HQ in Paris won't be able to deal with an european network paid by Germany/France?

Context - the point I advancenced was in reply to:

Think of this as an investment: at least they'll have to pay EU for it; the way it stands now, it's free.

Wake up from your exceptionalist dream, buddy. Last I checked, Alcatel is a French company and it's eating Cisco's market fast.

Last I checked, in a democracy, the parliament/congress and (depending on the country) maybe judges are the ones to make laws.

Besides, we aren't discussing how moral/ethical/trusted the lawyer profession is. so your remark is offtopic in the context of "NSA violating the lawyer-client confidentiality by spying on lawyers, thus hurting the client as well".
How would you like to be on the "receiving end"?

Yes, sure, shoot the messenger.
Bored much today?

Well, call me cynical but... put this in contrast with kiddy-pr0n and then ask yourself a question "Which anatomical parts of a kid the society seems to value and protect more?"

I'm old and knowledgeable enough to get around their punny attempts of censorship.
Other than that... you think /. is the most appropiate place to do something about censorship in Australia? Wouldn't doing it be a waste of time vis-a-vis the desired result?

You gotta be kidding, right? I mean... what do you see as interesting to watch on other than ABC and, sometimes, SBS channels? No seriously, my interest is genuine.

Ummmm... pardon me, but... Tony Abbot standing for something? I know he stand against boat people, carbon tax, NBN, unions, helping local industry... I didn't quite get what he stands for: can you help me this?

Well, I matered this. I don't even need to watch it and I still forget about it the next moment.