Determinism

Determinism is simple. Everything that happens was caused by something that happened before it. The coffee cup falls because you knocked it. You knocked it because you reached for your phone. You reached for your phone because it buzzed. It buzzed because someone texted you. Go back far enough and you get to the Big Bang. Every event since then has been one long chain of cause and effect. Including your brain states....

You decide to reach for your coffee cup. Simple choice, right? But here’s what’s strange. Scientists can predict that choice before you’re aware of making it. They hook electrodes to your brain and watch the electrical activity. A few hundred milliseconds before you “decide” to reach, your brain shows a spike of activity. The decision happens first. Your awareness of deciding comes second. This isn’t just true for coffee cups. It works for bigger choices too....