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You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

blog.jim-nielsen.com

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Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#201

Post by Kbelicius »

piloto_ciego wrote: post #156
pjerem wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Choosing is not free will. You choose based on your past experience. If you know doing A is better than B, you didn’t choose A, it’s just that your brain already knows that A is the best option based on past experience or knowledge or beliefs. Even if you choose the seemingly "worst" option B, it’s just that you know that new experiences can be rewarding so your brain is ok to try it. And there is the extreme example…

This is a lot of text to mean, “I’ve already made up my mind I can’t make any choices.” Typing out such a long rambling reply was itself a choice.

> Typing out such a long rambling reply was itself a choice.

First sentence GP wrote is: "Choosing is not free will.". Did you choose to ignore what GP wrote when writing your reply?

Free will isn't about making choices, at least not according to any definition I've heard. After all, it is obvious that in some way we do make choices. As far as my understanding goes free will is, depending on the definition, either about choosing differently when all else is equal or not having a gun pointed at your head when making a choice.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#204

Post by pyinstallwoes »

dchichkov wrote: post #183
pyinstallwoes wrote: post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are precisely the continuous difference of everything else.

There is no You.

Exactly. That poignant realization that (you == void). It's a hollow existence, I mean, a single pointed one, it feels like a dimension of dimensionless, am I zero or everything? Both? Ugh, compare me not to other for I am in all things as other. Oi vei, turn the damn thing off, it's spewing nonsense again.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#205

Post by cranium »

I'd argue the reverse is also true: you can remember books perfectly and not integrate their teachings.

Depending on where you are in life, a book can model, confront, polish, and/or destroy (no always a net negative) your core principles – either passively or intentionally, by taking notes and rereading.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#206

Post by lynx23 »

somenameforme wrote: post #123
nikkwong wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you positing that you have free will but that those around you with less emotional control don’t? I don’t think your example is serving your argument; your brain is structured in such a way that you reason in a way that is unique to you, and others reason otherwise based on the structure of their brains. I don’t see how this grants you free will. You’re talking about feelings and reasoning as part of conscious ex…

No, I am stating that we can control and change how we behave, which is largely the definition of free will. This is why even identical twins growing up in a practically identical environment will not end up identical. To continue with claims of no free will you end up needing to start appealing to some sort of a butterfly effect of environment. And while that claim is not falsifiable and probably never will be, I th…

You already said it. "practically identical" is not the same as identical, which alrady explains the (butterfly?) differences. Miniscule differences actually add up...

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#207

Post by leobg »

y04nn wrote: post #25

Don't forget that you are the result of all the past sensory interactions that you experienced in your whole life, people you interacted with, books you read, advertisements, songs, news headlines, etc. Even if you think you don't remember them, at one point in your life it was processed by your brain and may have changed some posterior decisions you made, thus making you what you are now. Since I realized this, I am…

Plus of doing them in that sequence and in their particular context. No wonder there is nobody in the world alive today or from the past or future who understands the world in the same way as you do.

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#208

Post by 4ggr0 »

b112 wrote: post #199
keiferski wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty trite if you stop to think about it. “Everything in your life that you experience has an effect on your experience of life.” We all exist in the world, not apart from it, and no amount of exclusion or creation of “sterile spaces” will change that.

Indeed. Although as with anything, moderation is key. Not too much, or too little. Listening to 4 hours a day of Tiktok or Youtube boneheads, probably isn't all that good for the average person. (I'm not referring to intellectual videos, but instead just "some random person" that has amassed 10M followers because they .. well I don't know what they do, except market themselves well. Then start blathering on about lit…

Well, why should I listen to a random person commenting on HN? ;D

Re: You are what you read, even if you don't always remember it

#210

Post by helboi4 »

b112 wrote: post #199
keiferski wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is pretty trite if you stop to think about it. “Everything in your life that you experience has an effect on your experience of life.” We all exist in the world, not apart from it, and no amount of exclusion or creation of “sterile spaces” will change that.

Indeed. Although as with anything, moderation is key. Not too much, or too little. Listening to 4 hours a day of Tiktok or Youtube boneheads, probably isn't all that good for the average person. (I'm not referring to intellectual videos, but instead just "some random person" that has amassed 10M followers because they .. well I don't know what they do, except market themselves well. Then start blathering on about lit…

Hard agree. I have really tried to make sure I spend most of my time reading high quality material these days. I realised my brain being saturated with a lot of drivel was actually having a notable impact on me. Much more than I expected.
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