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Comment by Brusco_RF | Hacker News Reader

Choice either is or isn't an illusion. YOU presented that dichotomy. I simply took the other side of it.

I understand that we do not live in a vacuum. Yes of course we respond to stimuli, that's part of what it means to be alive. What I am advocating for is more agency in your own life.

You are the one in the drivers seat. Act like it and your life will be better. Pretend you don't have agency and your life will get worse. It's really that simple. I think that's why your original comment triggered me so much.

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Well, this is the first comment I've made in this discussion, so no points for observation.

Aside from that, people like you make me sick. Acting like everyone who has an addiction, or a mental illness, just has to "act like they're in the driver's seat" and everything will be all better.

It just makes it painfully obvious how privileged you are, and how you take that privilege as proof of your rightness and completeness—and other people's lack of that privilege as proof of their inferiority.

Woah, pump the brakes there. I never passed a moral judgement. I never called anyone inferior. Believe me, I have plenty of vices.

Question. The addict you mentioned. Do you believe they more or less likely to recover if they believe they have agency rather than believing "informed choice is an illusion" as the other commenter so eloquently put it?

The question is rhetorical. The answer is obvious.

Yes, everything in your world is beautifully obvious, starkly black and white.

Choice is either fully in our hands, or fully an illusion.

We either have full agency, or no agency.

I understand full well about the importance of a growth vs entity mindset, but that's not going to stop the very powerful dopamine-seeking urge of the brain. At best it can keep you moving forward toward something that will (eg, rehab, ADHD medications, parental controls that prevent you using gambling apps on your own phone). But unless you've experienced one of these genuine mental disorders, preaching at people who do or have had them about how easy it is to get out of it, you just have to believe you can do it, is nothing but condescending bullshit. However many "vices" you have.

You're putting a lot of words in my mouth and I don't believe you're arguing in good faith.

I never said it was easy, and I never even said you can get out of it at all. I simply said you're better off believing one thing over another.

>that's not going to stop the very powerful dopamine-seeking urge of the brain

This is our fundamental disagreement. Plenty of people have their urges under control. Believing you are somehow "different" or your brain is "broken" is the ultimate toxic mindset. You can't fix your life until you fix your mind

Thanks for defining my mental illness out of existence.

Bye now.

I also have ADHD. That doesn't mean we're not in control of our lives. I'd suggest you don't let your ailments define you.

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