The illusion of control

[ZenRaiden]

Illusion of control - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

This is basically the part where its kind of obvious, but kind of exemplary in COVID times.

We are used to having the freedom to make choices, but at the end of the day, most of our choices are either purely arbitrary or based on necessity of circumstances.

What comes out of that randomness is purely up to chance.

You taking the vaccine or not taking the vaccine, dying or not dying and then consequently pseudo philosophical treatise of whether it was the right thing to do or not is purely incidental.

Fact is you are right both ways. Vaccines are not without risk or hazard. I took my vaccine just like a gambler gives a shot at a game. Its purely arbitrary.

No way I could figure out the real risk. I gambled on the fact that vaccines always seem to work for me.
Is it really smart or dumb. Don't care to find out.

I mean realistically its not even a free choice. Its simply what you have. It sucks, but at the end of day sounds better in general.

The whole medical side of it sounds cool, but there is always a way to poke holes into medicine. I figured its safer with it vaccine then without. Do I believe the hype. Well lets hope it does solve the pandemic, but we have much more work.

 

[Ex-User (9086)]

What's the alternative to choice being arbitrary or forced by circumstances?

If you make educated or systematic choices then you are actually forced by the system that you choose to rely on.

The world is far from random. Making educated choices gives you better odds than picking at random. Even in gambling there are professionals who win consistently and follow a system. Making choices that agree with your arbitrary desires seems far from random to me.

 

[ZenRaiden]

What's the alternative to choice being arbitrary or forced by circumstances?

If you make educated or systematic choices then you are actually forced by the system that you choose to rely on.

The world is far from random. Making educated choices gives you better odds than picking at random. Even in gambling there are professionals who win consistently and follow a system. Making choices that agree with your arbitrary desires seems far from random to me.

Your options are limited, so you take the ones that are best.
If you have a choice between a cookie and cookie icecream you would probably take cookie icecream, because its combining two good things, but if you had the cold youd stick to cookies.

Of course we have choices, but that is what one might call a dealt hand. You play with the cards you have. We assume if we are doing well its because of our choices, which is partially true, but its partially obvious. What you get dealt is what you play with.

Its not so much you have a choice, you just have to make the choices for yourself, but those choices are obvious from get go.

 

[Black Rose]

The only place you have control is your mind and that includes the extended mind. You realize what is real or not and act upon that. Because you realize that the outcome is affected by the causality of your choices. It all depends on what you do because either you affect it or you don't. So your mind must find what matters, what affects the outcome or you are not exerting volition. I made something happen, I affected it, things are different because of me. That is what you need to look for.