The big decision

[Pete]

Has anyone else had a big decision in their lives where they they had wondered where they had gone in the opposite direction, or not made a choice that they had, for better or for worse?

[loaf]

Nope. Every choice I made has already been planned out and sequenced, when I sit here and decide what is going to happen when I choose A or B, that choice has already been decided regardless if I jump ship at the last second.


I used to think like that, what if I listened to my dad during little league or stuck to baseball and got a scholarship.

What if I didn't get that credit card when I turned 18. What if I didn't go to ITT Tech for a degree I don't use.

Prob just have credit and no debt from loans. Still broke, nothing new.

You are you and will always be you no matter the choice you make.

[Taco-Calamitous]

I often wonder what would have been if I hadn't joined the Air Force. Probably be a custodian still, living a much simpler life. Might've been happier, though.

[Alpha]

If I'd studied something different at university, or studied overseas. Would probably have a different job, never have moved regions, have a different circle of friends.

If I hadn't applied for the job I have now.

If I hadn't proposed.

Kind of scary realising how different your life could be, and that it actually boils down to a reasonably small number of crossroads. Further back still, it would have only taken one of your ancestors to make a different decision at a similar crossroads to ensure your non-existence. That freaks me out.

[Pete]

Yeah, I wrote this question with that in mind, like isn't it absolutely insane to think that your life can be thrust into a multitude of different directions based on what really amounts to a handful of decisions.

I don't know how much I agree with the predestination idea, aside from we're born and we die. I feel like I'd have enough control of my life to make decisions about marriage or kids, or what college I attended or job I have now. I think if I chose to sit on my ass and do nothing, I wouldn't have my life as it is today. If I changed a few small stupid decisions, I wouldn't have my life as it is.

Crazy

[loaf]

I believe in a predestination idea with the idea of finding that destination. The destination is set in stone, but the choices you make to get there aren't.

The predestination is what you want it to be.

It's like Tidus My Story shit.

[Coff9]

I have an interesting hypothesis on this topic:

Basically, everything that exists is a result of natural, physical laws. Any combination of these laws that are different from the ones we have yield a universe that simply falls apart, unable to sustain itself.

Now, why do you exist? Because of your parents; why do they exist? Because of theirs. And so on, all the way back to the big-bang.

Why do you like the things you like? With food, for instance, you don't have a choice what your tastebuds report to your brain. Why do your tastebuds report what they report? Because of your genetics; why are your genetics what they are? Because of your parents, and then theirs, all the way back to the big-bang.

What I am trying to say here is that the laws of physics are literally Fate. For you to have made a different decision is impossible, since that would have required a different big-bang made of different elements, ruled by different physical laws; for instance, if you were to "copy paste" the big-bang a million times, you'd get the exact same people making the exact same choices, every time.

I take solace in this fact; it alleviates regret, if only slightly.

But what do I know? Haha.

[Magi of Worlds]

Yes as a matter of fact. There are quite a few life choices that I've made over the last several years that I have regretted immensely. One being quitting the best job I had ever had and probably ever will just for better hours. Another would be getting married to the person I did, we got a divorce a year and a half later. My life at this point is full of regrets.

[Alpha]

I had a debate with a colleague who is big on the argument that essentially boils down to:

> The universe only follows physical laws; nothing is supernatural
> Your brain is physical; it obeys physical laws
> Physical laws are simple cause and effect
> Everything now is an effect of a certain cause, all the way back to the beginning of time
> Therefore you don't actually have free will to control anything

I see the logic, but I simply don't want to accept it. Without free will, frankly, I'd rather be dead. Everything you've struggled for, everything anyone has ever created... all of it simply the predetermined outcome of physical yet indecipherable natural processes. No agents at all. Horrible, what's the point of living in such a universe?

[FinalxxSin]

I had a debate with a colleague who is big on the argument that essentially boils down to:

> The universe only follows physical laws; nothing is supernatural
> Your brain is physical; it obeys physical laws
> Physical laws are simple cause and effect
> Everything now is an effect of a certain cause, all the way back to the beginning of time
> Therefore you don't actually have free will to control anything

I see the logic, but I simply don't want to accept it. Without free will, frankly, I'd rather be dead. Everything you've struggled for, everything anyone has ever created... all of it simply the predetermined outcome of physical yet indecipherable natural processes. No agents at all. Horrible, what's the point of living in such a universe?

- Nobody knows how big the universe is, nor what is really out there. Coming to the conclusion that nothing is supernatural is really reaching imo.
- Yes, the brain is physical. My brain has done some things I didn't physically ask it to do though...like giving me odd dreams/nightmares.
- Can't argue on the cause and effect.
- For the most part, each person can choose to live their life the way they wish. In most cases, you as a person can decide rather or not to have influence on other people for example. We all will die in the end, but most of us have the option of how the journey to that will be taken. If that isn't free will, then I don't know what is.

[Rowan]

I had a debate with a colleague who is big on the argument that essentially boils down to:

> The universe only follows physical laws; nothing is supernatural
> Your brain is physical; it obeys physical laws
> Physical laws are simple cause and effect
> Everything now is an effect of a certain cause, all the way back to the beginning of time
> Therefore you don't actually have free will to control anything

I see the logic, but I simply don't want to accept it. Without free will, frankly, I'd rather be dead. Everything you've struggled for, everything anyone has ever created... all of it simply the predetermined outcome of physical yet indecipherable natural processes. No agents at all. Horrible, what's the point of living in such a universe?

I think maybe something else is bothering you. Because from what I've just read it seems to me like free will still exists within the confines of what 'is'. That shouldn't mean there is no free will and certainly shouldnt belittle everything you've worked and struggled for in your life. For example, you have the choice to change careers, purchase whatever food you would like to eat, spend your time however you want etc.

[Alpha]

But how are those decisions made? You brain is just a collection of stuff linked by electricity. Physics and chemistry, one action with one set of inputs, with only one possible outcome. The ultimate in predeterminism. Your sense of free will is an illusion, you have no more control over your brain than a mountain has over its trees. (So the argument goes.)

[che]

Beep boop, can confirm. We are all slaves in this life and there are no consequences, only destiny.