Hey Bill Nye, Do You Believe In Free Will? | Big Think

Hey Bill Nye, Do You Believe In Free Will?
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Author, orator, and all-around ‘science guy’ Bill Nye has been asked a lot of questions in his 30 years on the air. But this time around, Bill gets asked a question almost Biblical in nature: is there such a thing as true free will? Of course, Bill gets right down to the nitty gritty and tells us what exactly is going on in our brains as we begin to make any decision. Is the idea of "choice" real or is choice just an idea in our heads? Are our brains inventing our own answers before we’ve even thought them through? The answer might surprise you. Bill Nye's most recent book is Unstoppable: Harnessing Science to Change the World.
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BILL NYE:

Bill Nye, scientist, engineer, comedian, author, and inventor, is a man with a mission: to help foster a scientifically literate society, to help people everywhere understand and appreciate the science that makes our world work. Making science entertaining and accessible is something Bill has been doing most of his life.

In Seattle Nye began to combine his love of science with his flair for comedy, when he won the Steve Martin look-alike contest and developed dual careers as an engineer by day and a stand-up comic by night. Nye then quit his day engineering day job and made the transition to a night job as a comedy writer and performer on Seattle’s home-grown ensemble comedy show “Almost Live.” This is where “Bill Nye the Science Guy®” was born. The show appeared before Saturday Night Live and later on Comedy Central, originating at KING-TV, Seattle’s NBC affiliate.

While working on the Science Guy show, Nye won seven national Emmy Awards for writing, performing, and producing. The show won 18 Emmys in five years. In between creating the shows, he wrote five children’s books about science, including his latest title, “Bill Nye’s Great Big Book of Tiny Germs.”

Nye is the host of three currently-running television series. “The 100 Greatest Discoveries” airs on the Science Channel. “The Eyes of Nye” airs on PBS stations across the country.

Bill’s latest project is hosting a show on Planet Green called “Stuff Happens.” It’s about environmentally responsible choices that consumers can make as they go about their day and their shopping. Also, you’ll see Nye in his good-natured rivalry with his neighbor Ed Begley. They compete to see who can save the most energy and produce the smallest carbon footprint. Nye has 4,000 watts of solar power and a solar-boosted hot water system. There’s also the low water use garden and underground watering system. It’s fun for him; he’s an engineer with an energy conservation hobby.

Nye is currently the Executive Director of The Planetary Society, the world’s largest space interest organization.
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TRANSCRIPT:

PETE: Hey Bill. It’s Pete from Atlanta, Georgia, and I was wondering if you believe in free will? It feels like the idea of choice is the biggest argument for free will, but is choice real or is it just an idea in our heads? If I look at my life I feel like I’m here through a series of single decisions and it just kind of feels very linear and kind of on a track. But I’m not so sure. What do you think about it? Thanks.

BILL NYE: So is there such a thing as free will? The answer is clearly “it depends what you mean.” So I am so compelled by these tests where they have brain scans going on, working real time, and then the subject is asked to make a choice. And they can see on the brain scan that the choice has already been made before the person is able to articulate it or even watch the choice had been made have it bounce back and forth and then settle on another choice.

This is a wonderful question, but that there is no free will—that, to me, is an extraordinary claim, because I feel that I have made choices – and this might be what you’re driving at—I feel that I have made choices freely based on things that have happened around me, based on the environment and my experiences and my perception of the experiences of others.

So in other words if there really were absolutely no free will could you then predict what every single person in the universe or on Earth is going to do and where he or she will end up. And then furthermore can that not be influenced by some cosmic force or forces that we can’t assess? It could be. It just doesn’t seem reasonable.

I think much more reasonable is: our brains are complicated, and they got t...

[djacob]

If ever there was a non-answer to a question, Bill nailed it.

[-.._.-_...-_.._-..__..._.-.-.-]

Bill actually brings up a really good point. What if there is a force out there that behaves truly randomly? Determinism only works if every single force follows a set of rules. That's a huge assumption, considering we don't know 1% of 1% of anything.

[Snailman]

I can't help but be reminded by my favorite Einstein quote:

 "He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice."

of all the wonderful things we can do with our brains, from unlocking the mysteries of the universe, to fantastic feats of balance, to the creation of thought provoking art, the glorification of war, the process by which so many minds with so much potential are erased from existence is truly the least worthy.

[Gigameth]

I have my own philosophy about free will.

I call it "Restrictive Free Will". Which is essentially the idea of; yes. You do have free will. But you are not always capable of making the decision you want to make. I suppose there's some overlap between this idea and other things. Such as survival instincts, etc.

As an example. A regular guy or girl potentially has an every day possible choice of quitting their job, solely to play video games. Even if it's something we REALLY want to do, we are very often forced to not make that choice. Either by social constraints, or expectations, other psychological boundaries, etc. We understand that even though we are capable of making that choice, we are restricted to choosing only the contrary.

I suppose it's free will versus a predetermined importance scale.

[discodench]

I also like to ask mechanical engineers questions on philosophy.

[ColouringWithShadows]

The complexity of how our brain processes inputs from our senses and past experiences/memories to form ideas and action does not detract from the fact that we are ultimately deterministic. However sophisticated it may be. Free will is indeed an illusion. Ironically knowing this gives you a sense of control and freedom over yourself.

[JBroMCMXCI]

If there's no free will how could we choose our gender.

[alg]

Well, as Nobel Prize Winner Issac B. Singer said, We have to believe in free will; we don't have any choice.

[jildert]

People who criticise Bill Nye for anwsering a question about Philosophy while he is a mechanical engineer are a lot of times the same people who want a Tv star to be president.

[gantmj]

My free will, is so "Oh, oh, oh."

[Emcee_Squared]

My argument that everything is pre-determined:
The Big Bang created the laws of physics, gravity, spacetime, and matter.
All the matter in the universe from the point of the big bang until the end of time has been interacting with each other, following the laws of physics, bouncing of each other, and every atom in the universe has a determinable trajectory.
Our bodies and brains are just a continuation of all these atoms/molecules/electrons bouncing of each/reacting with each other in pre-determined trajectories, therefore, even though it appears we have freewill, the complex interactions in our brains/neurons all follow the laws of physics, are all theoretically predictable on an atomic level, and it is these chemical processes that manifest into our
Therefore, all things must follow the laws of physics, and are thus pre-determined.

[mr.knownothing]

I’ll go with Albert Einstein “I do not believe in free will. Schopenhauer's words: 'Man can do what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills, ' accompany me in all situations throughout my life and reconcile me with the actions of others, even if they are rather painful to me. This awareness of the lack of free will keeps me from taking myself and my fellow men too seriously as acting and deciding individuals, and from losing my temper.”

[Dsworddance]

Why can't we just judge this video only on the video and not Bill Nye's career

[madscientistshusta]

I love how a engineer is answering phil 101 questions lol

[coltonpasnik]

"the answer is clearly it depends what you mean, ". ok wow that makes perfect sense

[maxnicks]

Bill, you said, “ I feel that I have made choices”. That’s exactly right it’s a feeling you get, but the fact of the matter is there is no free will. As far as those impulse brain tests, go, they’re irrelevant, the decisions are made even before the body decides to choose left or right. Even up to the last second where one just impulsively choose left. You’re being forced to make a decision by the test.

[BenRangel]

The question Determenism ask is: What kind of magic mechanic can enable free will in a brain? If there are laws of nature than everything, including brains, are basically just like computer programs. It's just a set of logical routines.

[TheTarutau]

oh i like that answer. you even went so far as to ask an even bigger question. that i really liked. if there is no such thing as free will will we one day be puppets. i like to ask that one too alot. if there is no free will why are we not all puppets or react similarly to similar situations? how come a person can change? how is innovation even possible? why even evolve to take advantage of mind and its complexity?

on the flip side of that coin if there is free will is it actually free? how would it evolve? can it be made stronger and if so can it degrade? is it instantaneous or gradual? is there an external agent or is it chemical in its nature? is it intrinsic or emergent?

[kuystalheim]

People want to make the right choices, but don't always. Autonomy can be violated, though unethical, in complex forms. It is you that is your impetus, to the very end.

[JWPSmith]

No one is ever 100% super manly, or 100% super womanly. Some men are more effeminate than others, while some women are more masculine than others. That makes it a spectrum, which makes him right. If that makes you uncomfortable, then the better question is why do you feel so uncomfortable from that idea?

My initial reaction when i heard about gender fluidity made me angry, and I said it was ridiculous from a simple biological standpoint. Over the last few years, as I've learned more and more, I realize I was arguing about sex. Not gender. I also realized, that all of the scientific evidence just pointed out things most of us observe on a daily basis. With some people of both sexes, being more feminine or masculine than others.

I also realized my knee jerk reaction stemmed from the memes and jokes I was seeing and hearing. I heard jokes about these people getting angry about people identifying as cis-gendered, if you were male, but not female. The people getting mad if you don't call them what they identify as, without you ever possibly knowing, or caring. This exposed the ignorance of some of the people that supported this evidence, so I subconsciously associated the possible evidence with that lack of logical thinking and reasoning.

So, don't get mad because Bill believes something he has scientific evidence for. Observe the evidence and ask why you are really having so much difficulty accepting it.