Choice

This chapter is dull as ditch water, dry as the desert, but those that bear with it might see something in it that is quite startling. We make choices all the time from what to eat, to who to vote for. Now you can choose whether to skip this very chapter or even bin the whole book. Does it matter how we go about choosing? Not really, but it gives a remarkable insight into how basic we humans are.

fretwork

Babies don’t do much more than ‘eat, shit and sleep’, but we as adults have moved far far away from that early stage. Or have we? It does appear that we turn into sophisticated animals. We can have multiple projects on the go. We deal with complex issues. We also have experience and knowledge to make rational choices. I am proposing that we create pathways in our mind, simple ones when you analyse them, that we follow over and over. In essence, I am saying that we are not terribly complicated at all. We start with a seed, an idea, a piece of information and then link more and more to it. These bunches of links, fretworks, dictate what we do and how we prioritise.

Free will is and always will be free, but any decision we make has its roots stemming from the days, weeks, and years before. We learn how to do something, we form habits, we do things instinctively and of course we can act ‘out of character’. With so many modes of behaviour it is easy to see why free will is endlessly debated.

The starting point in this understanding of ourselves would be the seed. You are talking with someone, nothing unusual about that, and they mention skiing. Most of what we hear goes in one ear and out the other, but sometimes a word triggers us to investigate more. Curiosity once again, invoking the where, how much money would it cost, what is the likelihood of breaking several bones and is there snobbery involved. You have a desirable skiing trip at the centre and add information as you go along. You find the best ski resort within your budget. You work out when you can get time off work and look into what equipment you would need to get. You also book some lessons prior. Now the fretwork is expanding in your mind. You might do all the preparation but not go in the end. The fretwork lingers, however. Any mention of skiing or snow and you ponder about the trip you planned. What I am saying is that your life is not much more than building and organising a bunch of links.