

The brain appears to make up its mind 10 seconds before we become conscious of a decision - zaidf
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB121450609076407973-lMyQjAxMDI4MTI0NzUyMDc2Wj.html

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mynameishere
They should scan a violinist playing a fully-rehearsed piece. I wouldn't be
surprised if the "decision making" parts of the brain never light up. That
doesn't mean that the piece isn't played according to conscious decision. It
becomes mindless, just like arbitrarily deciding which letter to choose.

They should also try passing random math problems. Let's see if the motor
regions of the brain can calculate 12,000 * 1.08.

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noonespecial
10 seconds seems long to me. Could the article mean 10ms. I can easily make
conscious choices, based on previously unknown data, in less than 10 seconds.

I think nearly everyone who drives a car does it every day. See a problem,
suppress the initial reflex action, make a choice, execute. All in less than
10 seconds to be sure.

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jcl
The article clearly means ten seconds. It's not clear from the experiment
whether _all_ decisions are made ten seconds earlier, or just decisions
similar to the ones in the experiment (which was a conscious, non-urgent, non-
reflex-based decision).

But if it turns out to apply to all decisions, it means the "split-second"
decisions you make while driving are a function of trained response and what
your brain was doing many seconds before you saw the problem... which implies
that the amount of conscious choice you have in the matter is much more
limited than what your brain is telling you. It's a bit surprising and scary.

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noonespecial
I guess what I'm getting at (and perhaps driving is a bad example) is that I
can make decisions (in a non-reflexive way) based on data that I've been aware
of for less than 10 seconds.

How could I have decided something 10 seconds ago based on what I've only
known for 5?

Another example. I get on an elevator, see my doctor is on the 5th floor, and
press the 5th floor button. This takes about 7 seconds. How could I have
decided to go to the fifth floor 10 seconds ago? Hell, I decide what to get at
burger king in less than 10 seconds after looking at the menu-board.

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jcl
What the experiment implies (assuming it applies to a broader range of
decisions than just those in the experiment) is that the act of getting on the
elevator, reading the names, and pushing the correct button is mostly done on
unconscious autopilot following the conscious decision to go to your doctor's,
despite the illusion that you are consciously reasoning about each step.

Likewise, Burger King purchases are unlikely to require conscious thought: you
probably already knew what you were in the mood for when you entered the
Burger King, and you certainly had a good idea what was on the menu before
seeing it. Matching your known desires with the available choices (also
largely known) was an automated process that didn't involve a conscious
decision.

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gruseom
<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=230703>

But your title is more accurate.

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rokhayakebe
"Your brain has a mind of its own"

