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Comment by suivix | Hacker News Reader

The way I see it is the neurons in your head are going to do what they're wired to do. You can't change physical law, and any amount of success or failure won't change your brain structure. Your perception of the world is essentially constant. You don't need help being a person any more than a dog needs help being a dog. Just exist and do whatever.

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MRI scans of accomplished meditators have shown significant changes in brain structure, as do players of certain video games. People do change--whether or not that's a matter of free will is a discussion you'll never reach the end of.

Although it changes it is still in the human range, close to your original personality, and the delta is negligible. Your brain is essentially the same.

I'm not a neuroscientist so I won't argue that point. I think as far as self-improvement and personal growth is concerned, however it seems that at least on a surface level that people can alter their behavior. Again, whether they are hard-wired to do so because of brain structure I don't know.

Your belief is a self-fulfilling prophecy. You won't change because you think it's not even worth trying.

And it works both ways - if you believe you can change in a meaningful way, you will.

See my post elsewhere in this discussion with two books on optimism and self-theories.

If you could change your perception of the world, what would you change it to?

Determinism is old old news. Quantum events are inherently random => non-deterministic universe. There is variability within everything, brain included.

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