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And I was only pointing out that de-programming and re-programming is not the same as changing ones mind or altering preferences.

I would hold, that conscious effort is as free as it gets.

So, here's my question.

Do you have "faith" that NANABOZHO is real?

Do you have "faith" that NANABOZHO is fake?

Are you suggesting that both positions require equal "faith"?

^ He never did directly answer this question of yours, did he?

One cannot de-programme and re-programme at will.

I would further suggest that "free will" is at best, conscious effort as opposed to instinctively driven function. 

What I can do, is sit down with a rose'; put on music I like; look at pictures of me and my friends laughing; watch a comedy I like and try to associate good things with the rose'.  If I repeat this activity repeatedly throughout the next few months, I might change my "tendency" to always select a zinfandel.  Once I have had more "positive" experiences with the rose', than the zinfandel, I might automatically order it, instead of the zinfandel.  My choice in the moment is still not free will.  But I have changed that choice by re-programming my pre-programmed "desire".

Understand, I'm not in any way excluding cause and effect.   I don't think any action, or thought for that matter, comes without a cause.  I simply believe we can notice the results of our programming and, with work and savvy, change our programming   ---  a thing our animal predecessors cannot.

I am not prepared to make a black swan fallacy and say that no metaphysical "self" could be contributing in some way but I am prepared to dismiss this self until it is demonstrably and also to dismiss that this self has any free will unless you can demonstrate that cause and effect is not sufficient to explain this self's actions/decisions.

Life experience and biology program us.  But with our prefrontal cortex we have gained the ability -- not just to play the video game  --  but to reprogram it the way we would rather have it.  It is difficult to wade through and understand someone else's code (ourselves), but it can be done.  I call this partial freewill, because it requires a thorough knowledge of the code (self) and the appropriate skill level (behavioral programming) to accomplish it.  But it still feels like hope and possibility to me.

Middle ground fallacy. When the answer is unknown there is no way to say that any particular answer is mor likely including the middle ground between two answers.

But we can decide to change a bad habit and provide the reinforcement ourselves.

We are born with basic programs.  As we grow and learn these basic programs are used to build larger and larger networks of programs.  But understanding these programs, means we can use them to our advantage.  Instead of programming, you might call them "scripts".  A script can call any number of pre-existing programs and create complete worlds using just a handful of these.

Depends what you mean by database.  Expanding your database will be meaningless if the programs are not changed to utilize the new fields.  If you meant just expanding the "data" and not the database, then that would only give you more output, not "modify the output".  As for reorganizing the database or data store (a reconfigure), this would cause the programs to crash, since they would refer to data connections that no longer exist or have been changed.  I would think this would make reprogramming  essential.

...the group primed to see free will as illusory proved more likely to take an illicit peek at the answers.

...for exactly the same reason that I dismiss undemonstrated supernatural claims. Skepticism is the default. 

Though, can we differentiate between cause and influence?....I would say that cause (social factor) is an external stimulus (perception), whereas influence is an internally generated effect.

All right, he's making me almost tempted to sign up to Hive now just to jump in this.

About the word "FREE".  I would like to think that "Caused Events" are a little more complex than simply "free or not-free" (boolean).

Just make sure you tie your hands behind your back too. For the rest of your long virus-free life.

Every successful vaccine spawns a fresh mutated virus. You will never get ahead of that game.

I accept the idea of a GOD principle, but not a particular stylised deity....So does that make me atheist.

Ferguson declined to release his original code so other scientists could check his results.

And vice versa i.e. virus leaves mask onto hand, and leaves hand onto mask.  Thats why

washing hands --see disifnectants for hands n many places---   in conjunction with social distancing ---and that does more to mitigate the spread--- and wearing of masks  ---that do the most mitigation---.

Those in public arena, who practice all three with diligence, do the most to mitigate covid.

is there some story embedded in our brain or genes or something? it’s a ridiculous notion.

it's possible people are just hallucinating afterlife stories, but it doesn't look like it. even if they do, it's still a stretch to think people just consistently hallucinate afterlife stories when they die. plus all the evidence that skeptics just ignore that point to them being authentic. from another thread here...

ive posted examples, such as someone's damaged retina suddenly becoming healed. something impossible. never seen that level of miracle happen to atheists. 

i can't prove that humans aren't just robots, but just think about it, use common sense. we sure as shit dont look seem like robots. so, maybe we're not? at least if we have any reason to think we might not be, maybe we should entertain the idea that maybe we're not robots.

it's ridiculous to even argue the point, that no we're not robots,

but atheists have such hardened hearts and minds. 

even though there's plenty of evidence for out of body experiences and experiencing the afterlife when folks die, we'll ignore all science into that matter, and just pretend people hallucinate elaborate afterlife stories when they die (never just random hallucinations either, always elaborate stories of some kind)... makes perfect sense. 

even though things that look like miracles dont happen to athesits but happen to theists all the time, we'll just ignore that too, makes perfect sense.

even though it looks like something other than the universe caused the universe, we'll just pretend that isn't true, makes perfect sense.

yeah, humans are just advanced biological robots, makes perfect sense.

One personal conclusion I have made is that Atheists have far too much Faith for me, to be able to declare that there is no Creator, while breathing.

There seems to be some confusion. Masks provide some minor benefit in protecting yourself. However the largest benefit is protecting others by inhibiting what comes out of your mouth. So in a sense, six feet + mask will protect you, provided it's everyone else who is wearing the mask.

You can only agree with the science that is not censored by elite controlled MSM.

SIX FEET + MASK WILL NOT PROTECT YOU FROM THE PLAGUE!!!

yes it will, it's already been demonstrated. you still have had nothing to prove that it doesn't.

Literally stop disagreeing with experts, like doctors and the fucking CDC. They want to protect your health so we can reopen. 

Yes, currently, the only we can do is shut our mouths and wear a mask. Practice social distancing too.

It's been demonstrated that it works, and when people don't follow those guidelines, cases rise.