No Free Will Does Not Mean We Don’t Learn
I love getting questions or challenges from readers and I will respond to as many of them as I can here. Last night I was talking to a reader who happens to be my mother. Her feeling was that…
The Three Illusions · The writing
Essays & ideas
Writing, questions and dialogues from the Three Illusions archive.
51 essays
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Dark Matter & The Force
Phil Plaitt has written a fascinating article on the latest thinking about dark matter. Dark matter, to re-interpret Obi Wan Kenobi, surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together. At least that’s what a new scientific study seems…
Sam Harris on Free Will
Great video! [youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iRIcbsRXQ0o]
Why We Don’t Have Free Will
USA Today has this excellent article by Jerry Coyne, Professor of Evolution at the University of Chicago. Prof. Coyne's explanation mirrors my own, however he is much more elegant. His conclusion: There's not much downside to abandoning the notion of…
A Brain Cell vs the Universe
Compare the picture of a brain cell on the left with the computer model of the current universe on the right. What does it tell us? Nothing really, except that the same patterns can be found across the universe. It's…
“Free Will Is An Illusion” Says Sam Harris
Just in case you didn't believe me, neuroscientist and author Sam Harris has written an excellent piece on free will in the Christmas edition of New Statesmen magazine (which has been edited by Richard Dawkins). Here's a screenshot of my…
Thanks!
Thanks to everyone who purchased the book on launch day and especially to those of you who Tweeted or Facebooked it. There's been some lovely feedback. If you get a chance, please drop a quick review on the Amazon page.…
Doubting Free Will: The Argument from Celebrity-Authority
Here's a great list of quotes about free will via Bill Schloendorn. While they are all great, this one is my favourite: Charles Darwin: “…one doubts existence of free will [because] every action determined by heredity, constitution, example of others…
Do We Really Have Free Will?
A big shout out to Suzen JueL (@juel) for sharing this video with me this morning. Whether or not we have free will - and what it means if we don't - is one of the "three illusions" I talk…