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Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by _Schizotypy on Tuesday December 04, 2018 @12:17PM (#18601394)
I would completely agree. Our decisions are made based on previous stimuli. Our networks of neurons are altered by stimuli as we grow, this determines how we process later stimuli and the process repeats.
Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by y_molodtsov on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @01:43AM (#18606162)
The thing is, this process is so complex it’s useless to talk about determinism of human actions.
Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by _Schizotypy on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @10:19AM (#18608928)
I would agree, at this point in time it isn't really possible for us to truly understand the overall system that affects how we make decisions as in. We can at least start with the basics of understanding that it exists rather than stating that we somehow have this sort of magical "free will"
Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by millstone on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @02:06AM (#18606244)
A silver atom's angular momentum is aligned based on the field in a Stern-Gerlach device. This alignment determines how these atoms react to a future magnetic field. Therefore a silver atom's angular momentum is deterministic. But it's not.

A totally deterministic universe would have been a lot simpler. Why go through so much trouble?

Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by gpderetta on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @04:34AM (#18606842)
Why there should be a why?
Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by whatshisface on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @07:53AM (#18607764)
You don't get to know in advance which questions will pan out into answerable ones. You could answer "why should there be a why" to literally and question about why. In fact, you could have said that about the motion of the planets, right up until Newton - which shows that the category of things that can be answered like that contracts over time.
Re:Photons, Quasars and the Possibility of Free Will by gpderetta on Wednesday December 05, 2018 @08:22AM (#18607935)
That's a how, not a why. Asking why is it worth the trouble ascribes intentionality to the universe where none is expected