Warning: this post may change your brain.
Well, all of my posts change your brain, because everything changes your brain. But this one might make a rather bigger impact than usual.
According to a new paper in Psychological Science, reading a short article which argues that free will is an illusion causes measurable changes in brain function: Inducing Disbelief in Free Will Alters Brain Correlates of Preconscious Motor Preparation.
The authors took 30 people and randomly assigned them to read one of two passages from this book. One of the quotes was a fairly forceful attack on the concept of free will, saying that all of our actions are determined by our genes and environment. The other, placebo extract, was the same length and talked about conciousness but made no reference to free will.
After that, all the volunteers were given EEG while performing the Libet Task. This was invented ...
