WLD/LA
May I suggest a new book by Stephen Wolfram titled " A New Kind Of Science" Would add insight to your dialouge.
Quoting from the cover leaf: "Wolfram uses his approach to tackle a remarkable array of fundamental problems in science, from the origins of apprarent randomness in physical systems, to the ultimate scope and limitations of mathematics, the possibility of a truly fundamental therory of physics, the interplay between free will and determinism, and the character of intelligence in the universe"
Author's website: www.stephenwolfram.com
You might do it in your spare time; 1200pgs (gg)
Just starting it and it is quite interesting. That is, If your into something like that!
BA