It’s No Use Crying Over Spilled Milk
Why you don’t need to panic about our lack of free will
Disclaimer: The words that follow are solely the opinion of the author and are inevitably wrong. The best stuff is in the hyperlinks. Please enjoy.
Over the years, I have developed a particular interest in neurology. I was always a nerdy kid. Constantly reading. Constantly asking questions. Once you alienate enough people by annoying them with questions they don’t care about, you eventually resort to asking yourself a bunch of questions. You start needling your own mind:
“…I was caught by the onset of winter. There was no conversation to occupy me, and being untroubled by any cares or passions, I remained all day alone in a warm room. There I had plenty of leisure time to examine my ideas.”
— René Descartes, Discourse on Method
Come on, René, seriously?
“I didn’t want to examine my own thoughts; it’s just that it was winter time and people weren’t out and about. Also, porn wasn’t invented yet. I didn’t do anything weird in that heated room by myself. I just thought about stuff. I’m not antisocial. I was forced into isolation to write down my thoughts.”
Ok, cool. Whatever you have to tell yourself. Nerd.
