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Paul Grobstein's picture

computers, brains, and free will

Submitted by Paul Grobstein on Mon, 11/03/2008 - 4:17pm.

"Maybe our brains are just acting on complex algorithms that are not only set up already, but changing all the time based on new inputs"

Yes "changing all the time based on new inputs." But that's not all. "Algorithms" are deterministic processes, ie processes whose output is fully determined by the inputs. The brain is "stochastic"/"noisy" and for this reason (among others) is capable of doing things that algorithms can't do. Among them is to conceive new alternatives ("stories") and chose among them. Ergo, there is more to "free will" than an illusion.

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