h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

"you are living as though you have free will. The fact that you are wrong doesn't make a difference, as you are still living in a way that looks like freedom."

Oh, C'mon! Maybe it does not change anything for the individual. But this is a philosophical problem! Either is is a free will or not. You can't just go and say if noone notices the difference it does not matter whether the will exists. If we do start to get philisophical about free will and stuff the answer can't be "doesn't matter"!

Well, if it doesn't exist then it doesn't matter, 'cos there's not a great deal that we can do about it.

Well, we will either do a great deal about it, or we will not do a great deal about it. And our ability to predict which option will be taken remains exactly the same. Zero.

As a philosophical question it *does* matter, even if we can't change or even detect it.

Surely the point here is that if we live in regions 3 or 4 then we don't have any choice in whether we live thinking we have free will or not, it's already been decided.

Tube isn't much of a pragmatist.

I say region 4

I thought about that a lot

I realised that, past experiences, position of sun, what I ate for dinner, etc. all had a part to play (complex non linear systems anyone?)

It feels like freewill - but it ain't

reel back the universe 1 hour (i mean every particle, quark whatevever)

and play it again sam - IT WILL BE THE SAME (my opinion)

(remember you can't cheat and take back your memories of the last hour - that will change everything)

Complex non linear systems - you eat one extra chip at lunch and that can change the whole of your life [depends on how unstable the system is] - the straw that broke the camels back

blah, blah, etc...

Belief is a very important part of what is real to us. If you don't believe in something it may as well not be real, and if you believe in something there is no saying that it is not. Our true belief is that we have free will even though we may not.