Free Will And The Simulation Hypothesis

Free will is yet another of those Big Question philosophical issues that has been pondered and debated since written records have been kept - and probably orally debated well before that. It's one of those topics that has nearly all the evidence arguing against free will and all of personal experiences arguing for free will. If there were ever a concept that you would bet the family farm on, it is that you have free will. Yet in theology, if God is all-knowing, then you can't have free will since God already knows what you will do from here on out. If you are a simulated virtual reality being you can't have free will since the software rules your roost.

Perhaps I'd better start by defining free will. "Free Will: The ways and means of making a personal decision / choice between two or more mutually exclusive options, totally free of any external or internal factors beyond your control." Comment: Of course there will always be external and internal factors beyond your control. You can't ever be free of them so that makes free will a rather moot prospect. For example, you might be right-handed and thus always signal for your taxi with your right arm. Further, my definition says absolutely nothing about decisions being informed, rational or moral.

You cannot have free will in a deterministic clockwork Cosmos. You cannot have free will even in a Cosmos that has quantum mechanics and randomness / probability at the core of reality. That's because your decisions are ultimately then based on randomness / probability and so you still aren't in control.

Speaking of control:
1) there is no free will exhibited when it comes to obsessive compulsive behavioural disorders.
2) When your brain is exposed and you are consciousness, neuroscientists can stimulate / touch / manipulate parts of your brain causing you various bodily reactions and you are helpless to prevent these reactions from happening even though you are consciousness.
3) You apparently have no free will under hypnosis.
4) You've forgotten 99.999% of all you have ever experienced and not even your pure free will to remember something will guarantee that free will decision will come to pass.
5) Then too there is brain washing, being subjected to perform an involuntary action when given a subconscious stimulus. "The Manchurian Candidate" is a novel / film based on this well-established concept.
6) You have no free will over seeing an optical illusion's illusion even though you are 100% aware that you are seeing an illusion.

You can't identify any structure in the brain that is your centre of free will, which if manipulated can influence even change your decisions. Where is your free will actually located? Perhaps the illusion of free will is locked up in the computer software that actually simulates your 'existence' in a virtual reality landscape. This is the essence of the Simulation Hypothesis.

There are two main versions. There's the "puppet on a string" scenario, akin to a video game where you are the puppeteer and the characters in the game are the puppets. Then there is the "cast your fate to the wind" scenario, where the programmer just sets out all of the initial parameters, hits "enter" and sits back and watches what unfolds according to the programmed laws, principles and relationships encoded into the software. This is a common scenario in many of our "what if" number-crunching research programs; modelling say climate change or economic outcomes.

Okay, with the basics out of the way let's explore the free will issue in the context of the Simulation Hypothesis.

The Video Game Analogy

If you really had free will, and if you really designed your own video game or simulation, would the characters in that game or simulation have free will? Highly unlikely. Now just go up one level. The Simulators might have free will, but their simulated characters (that's us) don't have free will - that old "puppet on a string" scenario.

Do the characters in our video games actually think? They appear to think. They appear to have consciousness and personality. They - our video game characters - act or behave in such a way as to simulate as far as we are concerned their ability to see, hear, etc. That's partly what simulations are about. They simulate what we expect them to experience.

The Free Will Illusion and Virtual Reality

Now while software might not be able to simulate free will, it can certainly encode the illusion of free will. The easiest person in the world to fool is yourself, and the brain's software gives you a big assist along that path. Your brain's software, or the programmed software that controls your simulation, gives you the illusion of phantom limbs for example. Optical illusions are well known, and your apparent free will just cannot override those illusions even when you know they are illusions. There are also auditory and tactile illusions. Many of your memories have illusionary components. I'm sure that if you could somehow ask the characters in our video games whether or not they had free will they would answer "of course". Maybe one day if consciousness can be encoded as computer software, we could hold such a conversation.

In the Simulation Hypothesis we don't actually think original thoughts or have free will - there's no choices to be made; no decisions to be had. We don't think of all possibilities, or all variables. We react, even if we react to what we think we're thinking. What you think you think is all pre-programmed software. Recall the "cast your fate to the wind" scenario. The characters in our video games don't think. They react to the software that's directing their actions. That again is the old "puppet on a string" scenario.

You may think that you think, but that could be all in the programming. If you could somehow wander the corridors of your own brain could you actually find your free will, your essence, your self-identity, your self-awareness, your consciousness, your personality, your creativity, your 'the you' that you assume you are, your 'myself'? Sorry, all of that is nowhere to be found. If scientists like Susan Blackmore are correct, 'the you' doesn't actually exist. 'The you' is actually just an interconnection of neurons, genes and memes. I could postulate however that they - these nowhere to be found mental bits - are programmed / simulated.

Since we are programmed in either a "'what if' cast your fate to the wind" scenario or a "puppet on a string" scenario, we're not about to get into things that we weren't programmed to get into. That's not to say that The Simulators, the Supreme Programmer(s) wouldn't tweak or upgrade their software*, just not in response to anything attributable to what you might term 'free will' on our part. They couldn't respond to our 'free will' if we weren't programmed to have 'free will' in the first place. More likely as not it would be impossible even for them to program us as virtual beings with 'free will'.

Which leads to the following observation. If we could somehow create an artificial intelligence or simulated beings with actual awareness, consciousness, the ability to think and also with free will abilities or decision making prowess, then by implication The Simulators could have endowed us with consciousness and free will. However, then it would seem that The Simulators have lost all control over their simulation. ["Colossus: The Forbin Project" anyone?] However, the positive is that their creation would be a heck of a lot more interesting and stimulating and entertaining.

I Have Free Will Therefore I'm Not Virtual Reality

Let's go however with the probability that it is nearly impossible to create virtual reality characters that can actually have independent autonomy and free will. Now to my mind the only valid objection against the Simulation Hypothesis is the "I have free will" argument. That said, if you adopt that point of view, all you need to do is prove to the satisfaction of the rest of the world that you actually have free will, and therefore by extension all humans have free will. Then I will concede that the Simulation Hypothesis is as close to impossible as makes no odds and I can put my time, efforts and energy to better use than pondering over our possible virtual reality.

Somewhere on up the chain there has to be a really real reality with really real beings who have free will to create, or not create, computer simulations. The Simulators at the apex would indeed have free will although their simulations, or simulated characters (like us) do not. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you can prove to the satisfaction of the rest of the world that you have free will, and the rest of the world agrees, then all of the people who are in the Doubting Thomas camp can now change their Doubting Thomas spots. Then I'll gladly throw the Simulation Hypothesis in the rubbish bin and get on with more productive things. For now it's over to you!

Of course, even without conclusive proof of the reality of free will, anyone and everyone can absolutely and firmly believe that they indeed have free will and that free will isn't an illusion, programmed or otherwise. Then you would place your bets on our being really real beings in a really real reality. For the here and now at least, I don't happen to share that belief.

In any event, what does it really matter whether or not you are composed of electrons / quarks or bits / bytes? It doesn't alter any of your achievements or for that matter any facet in and of your existence. Of course it might make a difference when you depart this mortal coil, but that's another issue.

Now my alternative theory, assuming a really real reality instead of a virtual reality is that there is a part of your brain that ultimately controls your 'Free Will'. It's your brain's "pleasure centre". On the grounds that you will always tend to maximize pleasure and minimize pain (or unpleasant things), when you make a "free will" decision it is going to be a decision that will provide maximum pleasure or at least minimize displeasure, to your brain's "pleasure centre". So if pizza is a more pleasurable option for lunch than steak, you'll decide for pizza. If the electric chair is a lesser unpleasant option than hanging, (assuming you have a choice), you'll opt for the electric chair. No two options are ever going to be absolutely equal in terms of giving you the most pleasure, and thus your "free will" opts for whatever will give you the most pleasure (or least unpleasantness). That's my alternative working hypothesis anyway.

*If we dig a hole, presumably their software has dictated even determined that "what if" possibility of there being treasure at the end of the 'tunnel 'and they react to that intention by us to start digging and so then simulate the buried treasure awaiting to be found. It could even be just all before-the-fact - the digging was programmed in before-the-fact; the buried treasure was programmed in before-the-fact. Further, what makes anyone think that The Simulators have to be actually watching their virtual reality creation(s) 100% of the time in order to tweak or upgrade their software as required? They, being the advanced beings that they are, could have automated routines programmed in to alert them to some kind of unfolding scenario that requires their attention, which again is probably not going to be the case since we've not been programmed to have actual free will and thus force their hand with our out of control free will antics.

Science librarian; retired.

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Free Will: A Trilogy Of Thoughts

Do we have free will, or do we lack any free will, is one of those Big Questions that have perplexed professional philosophers and scientists and the average layperson too for millennia. The rational and objective part of me says we don't have free will; the more personal and subjective part of me wants me to believe I do have free will. I'd like to think I have free will even though I don't think I have free will. Here are a trilogy of short shorts where I try to come to terms with the paradox.

PART ONE: FREE WILL: YES, NO, OR MAYBE?

It's not good enough to just say that free will exists or that you have free will, you need to explain what the actual mechanisms in place are. What are the necessary components that have to be in place that allows that free will?

The real $64,000 question about free will, assuming free will of course, is what is the actual mechanism that operates? What are the physics, the chemistry, and the physiology that allows free will to happen?

You get these dozens and dozens of interviews on Big Question issue websites like "Closer to Truth" that deal with free will, but when all is said and done, there's a lot more said than done. All you really come away with is a lot of philosophical waffle but no real physics, chemistry and physiology. You're not told the actual mechanism(s). Nobody tells you how free will actually works, which doesn't inspire a whole lot of confidence that free will is real. Even if free will is real, it doesn't always amount to a hill of beans.

You may have free will enough to want to be the world's greatest trumpet player, but if you have no innate musical ability, the 'best' you might aspire to be is the world's worst trumpet player.

But do you have free will?

Presumably you didn't have free will when you were in the womb. So when did you acquire your free will? Were you born with free will? If not at birth, then perhaps when you turned one year old; or two years old; or perhaps three years old. In fact, if you do have the capacity for free will, wouldn't it be true that the ability to exercise your free will only comes to the fore when you begin to build up a data-bank of options? So the ability to exercise free will isn't something you're born with. To exercise free will requires knowledge of options, therefore learning / education (not of necessity formal). If the only data point in your food options data-bank is macaroni and cheese, then you have no free will when it comes to deciding on breakfast, lunch and dinner - and TV snacks as well.

Think of all of the occasions when you don't have free will, like when you're asleep, passed out drunk, knocked unconscious, under a general anaesthetic, or dead. What's the common factor? Presumably you 1) aren't aware that there is a decision that needs to be made, and 2) you can't draw off of your memories for options. But what is the mechanism that actually shuts down your awareness, either temporally or permanently? Are there clues to be had when comparing and contrasting your moments of active free will and when your free will is absolutely inactive?

But wait, there's more. Not only don't you have free will when asleep, you don't have free will over your dreams; what you dream; the contents of your dreams. You don't really have free will over any of your basic bodily functions. You have no free will mind-over-matter battling terminal cancer, and probably even less than that over battling the common cold and flu. You have no free will over your brain being suckered in by illusions; optical, tactile, auditory and so on. You seem to have very little if any free will control over your likes and dislikes in food, art, music, TV shows, even people. One often takes an instant liking or disliking to someone they have only just met.

Is free will, again assuming free will, a human condition? You would argue that you have free will and by extension human beings have free will. But then you'd probably have to conclude that all of the primates (apes and monkeys) have free will. The primates can make informed choices. But then probably all mammals have free will, and ditto the birds. Then why not reptiles, amphibians, even fish. A fish can be faced with having to make a decision. What about the invertebrates? You'd probably argue that individual members of the social insects - ants, termites, bees /wasps don't have free will, but what about solitary insects. Can a cockroach make an informed decision? Jellyfish and clams probably don't have free will, but a lobster might and an octopus certainly does. Plants don't have free will, but what about micro-organisms? Can bacterium exhibit free will?

Does free will have a sliding scale into non-free will (instinct)? Humans might have 10% free will and 90% instinct; an octopus 2% free will and 98% instinct; a plant 0% free will and 100% instinct. Is there a sharp demarcation between those with and those without free will, and what clues does that provide about possible mechanisms?

PART TWO: DOES A DETERMINISTIC COSMOS NIX FREE WILL?

Which comes first, the particles, forces and fields which collectively may or may not make for a deterministically cosmos, or the "you" that may or may not have free will? Well obviously the cosmic flotsam and jetsam come first, then that flotsam and jetsam evolves into the "you" and emerges into a property that's your alleged free will.

In proper order, is there firstly absolute determinism, and if so then secondly you can predict events absolutely based on that determinism and then later on down the track, or thirdly, is there or was there an emergent free will that arose out of a deterministic cosmos?

# DETERMINATION FIRST

Let's take it from the top, one step at a time. Once upon a time there was this Ka-Boom which cosmologists (actually the late Sir Fred Hoyle) have labelled the Big Bang event. From that moment on, was a new born cosmos a deterministic cosmos or an iffy, maybe this, maybe that probabilistic cosmos?

Pick a particle, any particle will do. Any one particle will behave in a deterministic fashion when interacting with any other particle or associated force or field as in the electron-positron example given earlier on. [Any particle will also behave in a deterministic fashion even if there are no other particles, forces or fields.] If any one particle has deterministic behaviour, then they all do and thus the entire cosmos is deterministic.

Example One: Every particle with mass has gravity and therefore interacts with every other particle that has mass (even photons) in a deterministic way (even if the calculations are beyond us mortals to perform - the three-body problem and all. It must be frustrating that the particles can 'calculate' to the last decimal place what course of action they must take while we can't perform those calculations, only approximate their values.)

Example Two: Every particle with charge has to react in a deterministic way to all other particles with charge.

Example Three: Every particle with 'spin' reacts in a deterministic way with its clone that has the same or opposite 'spin' (the Pauli Exclusion Principle).

The particles have no memory to draw on; they have no information to draw on; they respond 'instinctively' to what is in their vicinity. The cosmos in and of itself doesn't determine anything. All of the deterministic 'decisions' allegedly made by the cosmos are in fact made by these individual particles that collective make up and populate the cosmos, particles that are operating on 'instinct' but that 'instinct' is absolute and 100% repeatable. Every time an electron meets and greets a positron you get a ka-boom - every time; no exceptions.

In other words, the cosmos isn't a thing; it is comprised of things. The cosmos isn't in itself deterministic; the things within the cosmos; the things that make up the cosmos all exhibit deterministic behaviour. An analogy: the human population isn't a thing; the human population is comprised of things - individual humans.

# PREDICTION SECOND

Let's start by putting "you" into the equation. Whether you can determine hence predict everything or nothing in theory or in actual practice (or combinations thereof) hardly matters since neither option alters what's really happening in actual reality. 1) Maybe you can't find or predict where Heisenberg's electron is in either theory or in actual practice, but that matters not one wit to the electron. 2) You don't know or can you predict what's happening beyond the visible Universe in theory or in actual practice, but that's irrelevant to what is actually happening there. 3) You don't actually have to know any historical or modern person to realize that they weren't composed of antimatter. You can predict or determine from the comfort of your own armchair that there have been no anti-earthling humans - ever. But since antimatter exists, and since theory says an antimatter person is possible, your conclusion, your prediction is just limited to a very small portion of the cosmos.

Your (Royal Your) memory, information, knowledge and associated terms are useful in making predictions or forecasts based on the deterministic properties that the cosmos puts up front and centre. However, that's all ultimately irrelevant to the workings of the cosmos. What will be will be. Tomorrow's weather will be what tomorrow's weather will be regardless whether or not anyone makes a forecast. Planet Earth has had predictable daily weather way before any weather forecaster existed in anyone's philosophy.

Back to local events for the moment, if you are interested in predicting or forecasting this, that or the next thing 24 hours in advance, then you can safely ignore all possible relevant influences greater than one light day away. If you want to sooth-say happenings a year down the track in advance, you can absolutely ignore anything and everything greater than one light year away because light and everything else can't travel to us faster than the speed of light.

Just because you might need a computer-calculator (of whatever shape, manner or form imaginable) to crunch the numbers and make predictions, a computer-calculator that ends up being larger than the cosmos itself, doesn't in itself mean the cosmos isn't a deterministic hence predictable cosmos.

Let's take "you" out of the picture and so divorce the particle from the observer and/or the computer for the moment. Any given particle 'knows' what it must do when in the proximity of any other particle, force, field or whatever. The observer and/or the computer is irrelevant to that 'knowing', but whether or not the observer 'knows' what the particle 'knows', the outcome is the same and that includes the particle responding to the proximity of the observer.

# FREE WILL THIRD

If there is absolute determinism, absolute predictability, there can't be free will since if no fundamental particle has free will, no collection of fundamental particles (i.e. - the brain; therefore you) can have free will.

PART THREE: IS FREE WILL THE EXCEPTION TO THE RULE?

Apparently only an extremely tiny part of the cosmos has free will. That tiny cosmic fraction consists of just living brains on the Third Rock from the Sun. The rule is that most of the cosmos, the cosmos minus living brains, has no free will, so actual free will would be an exception to that rule. The best solution to explaining the exception to the rule phenomenon known as free will is to accept the postulate that there is in fact, no free will, therefore no exception to the rule as I shall hopefully explain.

# PARTICLES, FORCES & FIELDS

Presumably all of the electrons and quark trilogies (protons and neutrons) that make up your brain are standard off the shelf electrons and quarks. There is nothing extra special about them. They are the exact same sorts of electrons and quarks that comprise your big toe (which has no free will). Presumably the electric forces and fields are also standard issue and answer to Maxwell's Equations. Presumably the strong and weak nuclear forces that operate inside the atomic nuclei of all of the atoms that operate inside your brain are standard issue too. Whatever gravity your brain exerts (it has mass, therefore gravity) is standard. There's no 'dark energy' (anti-gravity) inside your brain. Nothing seems anomalous so far.

# CHEMISTRY

Presumably, all of the atoms and molecules that make up your brain's little grey cells are also standard issue and have no extra special unique properties relative to those same chemicals found elsewhere in nature or synthesized in the lab. Those carbon atoms that form part of your brain are the same as the carbon atoms found in coal, graphite or diamonds. Now no individual atom or molecule has free will - to the best of our knowledge.

Now when atoms and molecules interact with other atoms and molecules, well we call that chemistry. There are dozens of types of chemistry in the world like cooking chemistry, soil chemistry and nuclear chemistry. No free will is associated with these chemistries. There are numerous types of chemistries that operate in the human body like digestion. There's blood chemistry and liver chemistry too. None of these chemistries result in building structures with free will. But one kind of chemistry, neurochemistry or brain chemistry appears to have an emergent property we call free will. How so? Why this chemical exception to the rule?

# STRUCTURES

What has free will? The brain has free will. Presumably the only structure on Planet Earth, of all the multi-millions of structures that abound - from the pyramids to the ice cubes in your drink to the trees in your back yard - only the living brain has alleged free will. [I include the brains of the higher animal here as well as the human brain.] So focus, what sets the living brain, and only the living brain apart as having an alleged property called free will? No other part of the body has free will. You can remove and/or replace anything and everything in the body except the living brain and still have free will. Why this exception to the rule?

Consider further that your 3 lb. brain has an alleged property called free will yet hundreds of thousands of other 3 lb. objects, even organic objects, don't. Does a 3 lb. log have free will? Why not a 3 lb. brick? Shouldn't a 3 lb. brick have free will too? Your 3 lb. liver has no free will. A 3 lb. model of the human brain, standard issue in any anatomy department or in the office/lab of any neuroscientist has no free will. Why doesn't your 3 lb. brain have free will after you (and therefore your brain) dies?

The dead brain doesn't have free will. So what's the difference between you alleged free will living brain one minute before your death and your non-free will brain one minute after your death? Three of the four forces are still present and accounted for - the strong, weak and gravitational forces. The electromagnetic force has ceased to operate though, for free will, assuming free will, must somehow be associated with or caused by electromagnetism. Why that exception to the rule?

But free will associated with electromagnetism is odd because the electrical system/wiring in your house doesn't have free will, nor does the entire interconnected electrical grid. A magnet has no free will; ditto the magnetic field surrounding our planet and other planets as well, like Jupiter. The Sun is a seething mass of electromagnetic energy and it doesn't have free will.

# CONCLUSION

Only one structure (the brain); only one chemistry (neurochemistry); only one force (electromagnetism) seems to be associated with only one unique phenomenon - free will. But, and it's a big but, this collective exception to the rule is in accepting that there is a collective exception to the rule. No free will; no exception to the rule; no problem arises that requires explanation.

Science librarian; retired.

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How to Get Free Microsoft Office?

Microsoft Office is very important for any Windows users, but it costs money. But as users, we are always keen to know about method where we can get some app or service for free. If you are interested in getting free Microsoft Office then there are diverse methods to get it. This article will help you in discovering the techniques of getting Office for free.

For Microsoft, Office is a big cash cow, so it doesn't give you the privilege where you can enjoy options like free download Microsoft Office 2013 and continue using it forever. But there are techniques through which you can get hold of Office 2013 without paying a dime.

Office 365 Trial - 30 Days

Microsoft gives a 30 days free Office 365 Home Premium trial pack. You can free download MS office 2013 and use this trial pack on multiple PCs and Macs. Although, it's a free pack, but at the time of downloading you require providing your payment details. The catch of Microsoft here is that if you forget to cancel Office 2013 service before the free month ends, then Microsoft will start charging you $9.99 per month. So, you can enjoy Office 365 Trial for 30 days at free of cost but with due attention you must cancel the subscription before the month's end otherwise you have to pay the per month charges to Microsoft.

Office Professional Plus Trial - 60+ days

If you are willing to use Microsoft Office free trial, then Microsoft also offers a 60-day trial pack for free of cost, known as Office Professional Plus 2013. For downloading this trial pack, you don't need to provide your payment details as in the case of Office 365 Home Premium trial. So that's a good point as you need not cancel the subscription, it will just get expired once the 60 days trial period is over. However, there are tricks through which you can extend your free trial period. You will require extending the period before the trial pack expires. If your free trial expires, then you won't be able to extend it further.

How to Extend the Free Trial?

When you try downloading the Office Professional Plus Trial, you receive a Microsoft Office product key free along with the download link. Here, you have to install a download manager. After that, you will receive an .IMG file, which doesn't have a convenient format. The process is a bit confusing, and average users get a tough time in understanding it.

Use the 7-Zip file archiver and extract the content for the .IMG file. Here, you don't require burning anything to disc. You just require running the setup.exe file once you have extracted the file content on your computer. That will install Office. Usually, you are supposed to click 'Activate Office window,' but here instead of that enter the product key you got while downloading the app.

Office Online

For a completely free Microsoft Office experience, you can use the Microsoft's Office Online service. It is the Office web-based version, which you can run in your web browser. Web-based Office version is compatible with your documents stored in OneDrive and not with the documents stored in your computer. In one word, this version is for online use only and serves no offline purpose. But, it offers good compatibility with Office document formats. You can use Online Office for free with any Mac, PC, Linux system, or Chromebook.

The online version also lacks many features of the regular Office. But not all users are power users requiring all the features. For an average user, online version appears perfectly complete.

Office Mobile

If you are a Windows Phone, Android, and iPhone user, then you can use Office Mobile. Earlier, Office Mobile was free only for Windows Phone devices while iPhone and Android users required an Office 365 subscription. But, now there are free Office Mobile apps for iPhone, Android, iPhone, and Windows Phone as well. Like the web-based version, even Office Mobile works with OneDrive documents only. So, if you are with the current online trend, then you have free Office Online for your PCs and Office Mobile for your smartphones.

Thus, aforementioned are a few ways through which you can get free Microsoft Office. However, there is no such method through which you can trick Microsoft and get more than what it actually wants to give you. You can have only as much as Microsoft has allowed. It has made the Office Mobile and Office Online free, but with certain limitations. Then there are 30-days and 60-days free trial periods with certain conditions. So, if you want to use the desktop Office 2013 forever, then you have to subscribe for it with a payment.

He is a Technology writer working with Qresolve as a Technical Support Engineer. Russell Winters has been offering online tech support to global customers for issues related to laptops, desktops, Mac and devices including iPods, tablets, iPhones. online computer support She caters to the segment of core technology and provides viable solutions to any issues related to technology and software. Her expertise and skills in handling key technology issues is immaculate and quick result bearing.

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Tell Me All About Your Free Will

Quite apart from a Universe which might well be deterministic and clockwork-like in its make-up, or even a Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe where you are software, and software rules, (OK?) your free will is limited at best or perhaps lacking in substance entirely. The Universe is the way it is and no amount of wishful (free will) thinking is going to change that.

ORIGINS - No Free Will

You had absolutely no say in your origins. You had no say in what species you became; no say in what your sex was; no say in what time or era you were hatched into; no say in what place either; no say in your genetics; your parents; your race; your family ancestry, even your here and now family. If you had that free will, I'm sure you would have changed in hindsight one or more parameters of your origins.

PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT - No Free Will

You can't un-burn your bridges by travelling back in time.

Six Impossible Things (no free will can change): You can't travel south of the South Pole; you can't calculate Pi to the last decimal place; you can't make a spherical cube (or cubical sphere); you can't divide by zero; you can't draw more than one straight line connecting two dots on a flat piece of paper; you can't be in two places at the same time.

You can't travel faster than the speed of light.

If Mother Nature is in a bitchy mood, you're not going to change it. All you can do is duck and cover (and maybe pray).

BODY - Its Body Over Mind, Not Mind Over Body.

You can't stop of your own free will the ageing process. You can't fight entropy and win in the long term.

You can't cheat death (and probably not even taxes in the long term).

You can't stop catching various diseases.

You can't negate the physiological effects of food, illegal drugs, alcohol, pharmaceuticals, poisons, lack of oxygen, etc.

MIND: THE INVOLUNTARY AUTOMATED NERVOUS SYSTEM

You can't, in the long term, of your own free will; negate the need for sleep, breathing, an intake of an energy supply (food) and liquid intake, the elimination of solid, liquid and gaseous waste products.

You have no control over the chemical processes that govern your physiology like digestion, respiration, etc.

You can't control to any great and lasting extent via free will your blood pressure or heart beat.

You naturally fall asleep but you can't will yourself to fall asleep.

When you sleep your body (normally) goes into shut-down mode to prevent you from sleepwalking. You probably cannot free will yourself to walk in your sleep (nor would you want to).

MIND: SUBCONSCIOUS

You apparently have no control over your dreams or nightmares. You are just a passive observer within the passing dream parade and you have no free will about the content or context of that dream parade. So what you dream is beyond your conscious control whether you like it or not (but at least the price of admission is free).

MIND: CONSCIOUSNESS

Okay, let's say for a moment you have conscious free will (though see immediately below). There are still some flies in the ointment. Firstly, you don't have infinite free will since at no time are you ever faced with an infinite number of choices. Your free will choices are often limited to either this or that. Okay, that's free will but perhaps not as free in terms of options as you may like. Secondly, you believe you have free will so you reject determinism. You don't want something or someone determining what you should or shouldn't do. Yet, I'd wager dimes to doughnuts that this is a case of do as I say not as I do. You often wish to impose your determinism on others. You may not say so; you may not actually put in train that which will determine the decision-making of others; but you will damn well think it (and maybe mutter under your breath). You want things to happen; you want people to do, what you want to happen and what you want other people to do. Good luck with that!

Then there are those bits of false 'reality', realities which you know aren't really real, as in optical illusions, where your mind is playing tricks on you and you are aware of that albeit helpless to dispel the illusion. All the free will you can muster won't alter what your mind is telling you even when you know your mind is lying to you!

You would tell me that you have free will to lift your leg up, or not. But if you are paralysed from the waist down, that free will is irrelevant and immaterial.

You have no conscious free will control over the exchange of oxygen for carbon dioxide when you breathe in and out. The same applies as noted above to the various chemical (blood, liver, or digestive) and biological (cell reproduction) processes that are part of your reality but which you only have theoretical (book learning) awareness of.

So, mind over matter, or free will over matter, cannot be taken seriously

CASE HISTORY

Despite the above, you probably believe you have free will. What you are actually thinking or saying is that you believe your brain has free will since you are your brain. Your brain is what makes you, you. Or, in other words, your brain believes your brain has free will. But your brain is just an interconnected lump, with the consistence of soft butter in a vat of salty water, of neurons, synapses, all firing thither and yon due to neurochemistry and biochemistry. And of course chemistry is just molecules and atoms and therefore electrons, neutrons and protons doing their electron, neutron and proton thing. So how is free will an emergent property of physics and chemistry?

Say you make a decision and then direct your brain to set in train whatever it takes to make that decision so, which is to say your brain decides to do something and then directs itself to make it so. There's something odd about that notion. Your heart doesn't decide to have a heart attack and then proceed to implement that decision.

Say you, or rather your brain, decides to cross the road, and puts in motion what's needed for you to cross the road and so you start to cross the road. You would tell me that you decided to cross the road of your own free will. As you are crossing the road a runaway car heads right at you and so you decide to leap out of the way. But did you really consciously decide, of your own free will to leap out of the way, or did you just do it without any hemming and hawing and pondering whether or not to leap out of the way. You would probably tell me you had no choice in the matter, you just leapt out of the way, yet you (or your brain) still had a choice and still made a decision.

So what is the difference in principle between your decision to cross the street and your decision to leap out of the way of the runaway car? I maintain there isn't any and thus your initial decision to cross the road was predetermined, by your subconscious if nothing else even before you became aware that you had apparently made a free will conscious decision.

Actually it has been experimentally verified that decision-making stems from the subconscious and not the conscious mind. Your perception that at least some of your decision-making is made consciously is an illusion. Therefore, there's no such thing as conscious free will (which makes perfect sense if we live in a Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe).

SOCIETY

You can't fight city hall. Even if you have some degree of conscious free will, society takes some of that away from you - you can't just do whatever you damn well please (unless of course part of that free will is accepting the consequences).

CONCLUSION

Now tell me all about your free will.

Science librarian; retired.

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Closer To Truth: Free Will

There is an ongoing PBS TV series (also several books and also a website) called "Closer To Truth". It is hosted by neuroscientist Robert Lawrence Kuhn. He's featured in one-on-one interviews and panel discussions with the cream of the cream of today's cosmologists, physicists, philosophers, theologians, psychologists, etc. on all of the Big Questions surrounding a trilogy of broad topics - Cosmos; Consciousness; Meaning. The trilogy collectively dealt with reality, space and time, mind and consciousness, aliens, theology and on and on and on. Here are a few of my comments on one of the general topics covered, the subject dealing with the concept of free will.

What is Free Will?

Free will would appear to be the ability for a living organism, not just of necessity a human, to decide between the various options open to it when presented with an either/or intersection. However there is not such thing as infinite free will. The choices available aren't endless. One option not available to you on your commute to work is to flap your arms and fly. A bird on the other hand doesn't have the choice of driving a car when heading south for the winter. The laws, principles and relationships of both the physical and biological sciences restrict your free will options. Your innate abilities restrict your free will. Your free will option says you can hit a home run out of Yankee Stadium. The opposing pitcher says otherwise. Your society and your culture also places restrictions on your free will. You just can not do whatever you damn well please. Okay, so at best you have only a quasi free will, but as long as you have two achievable this or that options you can argue that you have the sort of free will that's defined as an ability to decide between those this or that options. Whether or not that is an illusion might not be overly relevant as long as you truly believe you actually have free will. If you really believe that your choice of dinner tonight was 100% your own decision, then you're a happy camper, ignorance is bliss and let no one rain on your free will parade.

Do Humans have Free Will 1?

Humans may have free will, but there are many, many aspects to your existence in which you had no say-so whatsoever, aspects in which you would have sold your soul to the devil for the chance to have had some free will choice in the matter. I mean you had no free will about being conceived and born at all. You had no choice, no free will options as to who your parents were and what your ancestors were. You had no free will options about your family - brothers and sisters - and where you stood age-wise with respect to them. You had no choice about your sex, your IQ, or about your race or about any other aspect of your genetics which might have included some sort of deformity or being prone to certain diseases. You had no option about the historical era you were hatched into, or the society, culture or nationality. You probably had little free will, if any, about what religion (if any) you were brought up in. In some cultures in some eras you probably had no free will about who you were to marry or your status or caste in the community. In short, for all the talk about free will, there are many, many facets of your life that you had absolutely no free will control over. That's a bummer!

Do Humans have Free Will 2?

Here's another everyday common example of your lack of free will. How many of you have experienced hearing some stupid advertising jingle or insipid pop song that just keeps on keeping on rambling through the recesses of your mind? Have you ever been able to free will it away? Probably not. You usually need to be externally distracted by something else which causes the irritation to retreat into the far background (only to arise again at a later date).

Do Humans have Free Will 3?

Prior to your conception you had no free will on the obvious grounds that you did not yet exist. Between conception and your birth, and for some days, weeks and months thereafter, you had no free will. You had all of the free will that your stomach has which is bugger-all. If that's the case, and it is had to argue otherwise, what makes you believe you have subsequently acquired by some either physical or nebulous process the concept we call free will? Is acquiring free will somehow akin to acquiring the traits you acquired when you reached puberty? If so, what's the biochemical process? Further, the acquisition of free will would have to be a continuum. It's not likely to be the case that one day you had zero free will and the next day a fully-formed ability to exercise free will in all of its diverse forms.

Philosophy of Free Will

According to legend, God gave us free will. Let's say for argument's sake that there's an afterlife and that we go to Heaven. Do you have free will in Heaven? That is, could you, of your own free will, commit a sin in Heaven? How's that for some heavy philosophy?

Mysteries of Free Will 1

The mystery of free will is how free will can manipulate electrons and atoms and molecules that are part and parcel as being physical substances of the brain (hereafter called brain chemistry) that collectively construct brain structures, into seemingly separate and apart movements of the body that otherwise wouldn't of happened. Free will would seem to use existing brain chemistry to initiate an action in one place that causes reactions in another place. Any free will decision-making must involve some sort of action if concepts are to be turned into reality.

The first mystery is the conscious thought that you think that indicates you might want to do something, say, "should I raise my right arm". Where did that first conscious thought about the possibility of raising your arm come from? Did it appear as if by magic fully formed out of the ether? Probably not. You had to have subconsciously formed the thought (a thought which is a physical thing requiring matter and energy) out of your reservoir of brain chemicals before you can even consciously think the thought. Quite why your subconscious should have come up with such an idea in the first place is yet another puzzlement.

Anyway, the next step is to take the concept that you might want to raise your right arm and then apply an apparent free will decision making exercise into an either/or choice. That involves another thought - "will I, won't I" - which again doesn't manifest itself out of thin air. That "will I, won't I" is being pondered by the subconscious while your conscious mind is dealing with the idea that you might want to perform the arm-raising action in the first place. There's lastly a third thought which is either "I will" or "I won't". That action then translates into a reaction.

The implication is that before you can think any fully-formed thought you have to first form the thought at a deeper unconscious level. You can't consciously think the thought before you subconsciously first think the thought. If your subconscious came up with the idea first before being elevated into the consciousness arena, then you have no free will.
Just to re-enforce the role of the subconscious, most of the time when you move your arms you are not aware of it and thus are not making conscious free will choices. Watch someone in a conversation, even people being interviewed here on "Closer to Truth" and they are usually gesturing and flapping their arms around (for no apparent reason and to no apparent purpose). They are not making each and every gesture deliberately in a fully self-aware and in a free will mode. Nearly every movement you make is not anything that can be related to free will. Say, as a common event, you get up out of your chair and walk across the room. Did you consciously decide which foot to step off on? I think not. Another common saying is how people often open up and engage their mouths before they engage their brain or their mind.

And isn't it amazing how brain chemistry translates all those thoughts within your mind into your native language, or more than one language if you are bilingual. How does brain chemistry become language inside your head? That translation has no free will connection.

Okay, some questions arising: How does your mind take brain chemistry and turn chemistry into thoughts (and in your native language no less)? How do those thoughts end up converting the original set of brain chemistry conditions into the chemistry that actually raises your right arm? It's an entirely physical process from one to the other - brain chemistry - thought - action - but the mystery is how your mind has the ability to somehow drag up and arrange and rearrange those physical bits that will comprise the subconscious thoughts that you must have first constructed before you actually have those thoughts consciously. This would seem to be a case of mind over matter, a psychic phenomenon rather discredited.

Anyway, the bottom line is that it is the subconscious that rules the roost, another case in point being the content of your dreams, and that doesn't require free will.

Mysteries of Free Will 2

If there is such a thing as free will, why is there such an obesity epidemic? You'd think one of the last things people would want to look like is blubber personified. Free will there might be, but will power is lacking! But what do I know? Maybe roly-poly is the latest in body fashion statements! Still, IMHO obesity is a mystery if people really have free will and control over their own impulses.

Physics of Free Will 1

Free will seems to be a variation on the theme of mind over matter and we know how badly the physical evidence for that is. Mind over matter is something that has yet to be established as part of the physical realm that's been peer-reviewed and adopted by the sciences. If there really were a physics of free will, then one might assume that free will would be exhibited when it comes to the things that matter most, like making decisions that gives rise to avoiding or negating pain, disease, ageing and death. If there was free will that operated via some physical mechanism(s) then no one need suffer from migraines, the common cold or flu, cancer and heart disease, getting grey hair or wrinkles, and of course kicking the bucket. Were it not for accidents caused by external happenings (including getting pregnant), free will could just about put the medical profession and pharmaceutical companies out of business, but probably not undertakers since eventually an accident would happen that would be fatal.

Physics of Free Will 2

It seems strange that you have free will to say raise your right arm and you can in fact raise your right arm after you decide to; you have free will over some other bodily functions and those functions respond in kind after you so make the relevant free will decision (say body building or achieving new and improved mental skills), yet your free will over your own body with respect to pain, disease, ageing and death absolutely fails. This is not a question of "you may not succeed" rather that you WILL not succeed. You also have no free will control over say your hair growth, not just some of the time but all of the time. Either you have free will over your own body or you don't. It appears you don't, at least when it comes down to what's really fundamental. So why free will over some things and not over other things? In conclusion, IMHO, there's something screwy somewhere.

Physics of Free Will 3

Connection between A and B is not control of A over B (or B over A), but you have to have the connection before you have the control, and the brain-body connection is well established. That the brain rules the body's roost is not in dispute. In fact the brain is the one organ that cannot be replaced. In theory, the brain could exist without the body (as in the brain-in-the-vat scenario or the mind could be downloaded into a machine), but the body cannot be a viable entity without the brain. So, what does that tell you about the brain-body connection and what organ is in control? Did I hear you say the brain?
Body parts can be replaced. You can have prosthetic limbs and bionic eyes and ears. You can have an artificial heart and exist in a iron lung. Your kidney functions can be replaced by a machine. You can wear a wig! You can be fed via a tube. You can be fitted with dentures. There's even artificial skin available for serious burn victims. But you can't replace the brain or at least the contents of the brain. The buck stops with the brain. Your brain is the most fundamental structure you have. No brain; no you. No big toe? You are still you.

How Free Will Probes Mind and Consciousness

One connection between free will and the mind and consciousness is evident when it comes to dealing with illusions. We have all seen optical illusions and may have experienced auditory and tactile illusions too. Experiments have been conducted on subjects that on the surface would seemingly make the subject the victim of some act of physical violence. But that seeming act of violence is an illusion and the subject knows before-the-fact what will transpire and that it is an illusion, but reacts anyway as if they are about to subjected to violent trauma. In the case of the standard set of optical illusions, even though you know it is an optical illusion, your mind, your consciousness cannot help but see the illusion. In other words, your alleged free will cannot override the mind, your consciousness and prevent the conscious mind from seeing what really isn't there or what really isn't happening. Your free will is a non-participant when it comes to the "reality" of illusionary phenomena. A common example is the size of the Full Moon on the horizon compared to when it is high in the sky. The Moon on the horizon appears much larger than when it is overhead. It's an illusion. You know it is an illusion. Your free will tells your mind and your consciousness that it is an illusion. Your mind and your consciousness tells your free will to go to hell!

Free Will and Decision Making 1

For all the hype about free will and decision making, there are an awful lot of extremely relevant facets to your existence, your life (and death) that you didn't and won't have any say about. You had no choice about when you were hatched, no say in your ancestry, no free will in determining your genetics. You have very little free will over many of your daily bodily functions. You can only go so long when you decide to go without breathing; without eating or drinking; without sleeping; without blinking your eyes. You have no decision making control over the biochemistry that rules your roost. You can't free will your toenails to stop growing for example. You have no free will control over all the myriad of microbes that make up most of you. You cannot free will away the ageing process (despite millions of claims to the contrary from cosmetic companies, plastic surgeons, vitamin manufacturers, various food and diet promoters, fitness gyms, and meditation gurus - their motivation is making a buck, not stopping you from ageing). Time may only be a concept, a mental abstraction, but the ageing process is real enough. You have no free will over your eventual and inevitable demise and no free will over what happens after that (as in "life" after death). You probably have no free will over most things that can or do affect you like the weather or getting hit by a stray bullet. Shit happens and all you can really do about it is just go with the flow. So, maybe you do, and maybe you don't have free will when you make some of life's choices, but you certainly don't when it comes down to what's really important about your life and death.

Free Will and Decision Making 2

Presumably you are compelled to believe that you have free will because you can make decisions without fear or favour. If you want fish for dinner you can decide to have fish; if you want chicken for dinner instead, you can decide of your own free will to have chicken.

I would suggest that you need to also assume that your companion animals have free will since they too have the capacity to ponder and think and make decisions and act on them. I normally see my cats ponder over and then decide whether to eat this food in the bowl on the right or this other food in the bowl on the left or maybe a bit of both or maybe stick their nose up at both options. The saying that a cat is always on the wrong side of the door seems true enough. If the cat is outside it decides to come inside. If it is inside it decides to go outside. Cats can change their inside/outside preference a dozen times over in an hour. They aren't being forced into making these choices; they do so apparently of their own free will.

Presumable one could attribute free will not only to the mammals (like cats), but the birds as well, and it doesn't stretch things too far to accept free will as a given in reptiles, amphibians and even in fish since these broad divisions too of the vertebrate kingdom have exhibited decision-making qualities.

But what about the invertebrates? There would seem to be little question that some of them, like the octopus, exhibits decision-making behavior. But what about ants and termites? What about clams and oysters? What about earthworms and millipedes? What about microbes and bacteria?

The point is that there appears to be a natural line drawn in the sand somewhere between what species make decisions based on thinking through the options and then picking and choosing between them, and those that 'decide' based on raw instinct. Where that line is actually drawn, and the mental attributes, physiology and anatomy of the brains that are examined of those on either side of the line, might then give us a better handle on the mystery that is free will, assuming free will of course. There are many compelling arguments that free will is illusionary.

On the other hand, the entire free will/decision-making apparatus within the animal kingdom could be just one long continuum from maximum to minimum without any absolute fixed line in the sand. Even if that's the case it would yield clues as to what's required for this or that amount of free will.

Is Free Will an Illusion 1?

Free will is indeed an illusion, IMHO. At the moment that our Universe had an origin, typically considered to be the Big Bang event, all of the laws, principles and relationships of physics were set in place. Further, IMHO, causality is absolute. Causality rules. So everything that has transpired starting at less than a nanosecond post Big Bang was already determined, and in theory predictable by those fixed laws, principles and relationships of physics, physics which begot chemistry of necessity which begot biology of necessity which begot mind of necessity. It's a clockwork Universe just like Newton and Einstein believed. However, either Newton nor Einstein could have conceived of another scenario, but one which also leads to the illusion of free will. That scenario is that we exist as virtual beings in a Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe. As the products of already written software, an alternative version of those laws, principles and relationships of physics, we just dance to whatever tune the software dictates. That could suggest that whoever programmed the Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe is just sitting back and watching to see how it all turns out, or he / she / it might be taking an active role like a player in our video games who manipulates the characters in the game such that the characters have no free will but just dances to the player's tune. In either scenario, Big Bang or Simulated (Virtual Reality) Universe, there's no free will. I'd personally desire that conclusion to not be the case. I'd like to think I have absolute free will, but one goes where the logic leads.

Is Free Will an Illusion 2?

If you subscribe to the Many Worlds Interpretation of Quantum Physics (not that I actually do), then you have no free will, only the illusion of free will, in that in one universe or in another universe all of your possible free will choices are realized or acted out. You have apparent free will to turn right or to turn left at Oak Street, but it's an illusion because in one universe you turned left, but that universe immediately spawned another universe wherein you turned right. You think you made a free will choice, but you actually didn't. Curses, foiled again!

Is Free Will an Illusion 3?

You are a part of life, the Universe and everything, or, to shorten things, a part of Mother Nature. Mother Nature operates on a select number of non-negotiable laws, principles and relationships, starting with the most basic of elementary particles and forces and working on up the line. No correspondence will be entered into or answered by Mother Nature. As such, you dance to Mother Nature's tune. Do not attempt to change the tune and adjust reality. She controls the horizontal; She controls the vertical; She controls all that you see and do. Mother Nature is a bitch, but there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Free will - myth busted!

But, and there's nearly always a 'but', while 'free will' may well be, and probably is, an illusion (or delusion), it does have practical applications in the real world (like forcing one to be accountable for their actions) and thus is a concept unlikely to bite the dust any time soon. It's akin to the notion that God may not, and probably does not exist, He still forms a useful function in society by keeping a lot of people here on Terra Firma employed!

All Reality Consists of What Things 1?

Symbolic processes, like language, aren't material. How much does language weigh? How much volume does it take up? Does the French language react chemically with the German language? What colour is it? Is it solid, liquid or a gas? What are the material properties of language? Well, well, so you do believe in the existence of the non-material after all. But I still can't figure out how a not-thing, a symbolic concept, like free will, can physically raise your right arm upon command. It's akin to suggesting that language can chop wood and saw logs!

All Reality Consists of What Things 2?

Now let me explain why one can't adequately explain free will.

If one, by one's own admission, is a materialist, presumably one must believe that one's free will is something material. So, what is it? What is it composed of? What is its chemical composition? Where is it located in your body? If free will is material it must be located somewhere. Presumably free will could be isolated and extracted and analysed in the lab. How does it work? Does it work on electromagnetic principles? Does it operate at the quantum level?

If one now says that one's free will isn't material, but a nebulous thing, a non-physical thing, then one has negated one's claim to be a materialist. However, the final nail in the free will coffin is that no matter which way you slice and dice it, any non-physical free will is fundamentally just another example of mind over matter, albeit in this case the matter being your own body.

In fact free will only makes sense if it is a physical thing that can be isolated and poked and prodded and examined on the slab in the lab. Physical things can interact with other physical things: Cause and effect; action and reaction. However, not only don't I see free will explained in the physics textbooks, I see no mention of it in the chemistry, organic chemistry, or biochemistry texts. It rates no mention in biology texts or in anatomy or physiology texts. When it comes to science, free will is conspicuous by its absence.

And finally, why have free will at all if your autonomous body systems, your subconscious, and your innate instincts are more than adequate for survival? Free will is surplus to requirements.

I conclude that the free will debate will drag on for quite some considerable time yet, despite any valiant efforts to explain all.

Science librarian; retired.

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6 Ways to Get a Free Online Tarot Reading

Tarot readers and psychics are a dime a dozen these days, but finding a free reading online can be a challenge, unless you already know where to look. Often times, someone may not have the money to pay for a booking or to pay to speak to a Tarot reader, but using resources such as streaming video sites, social networks, and forums, can be helpful. We'll also look at demo readings competitions and giveaways, and free minutes, so if you're strapped for cash and in need of guidance, you'll find all the information you need to get a reading done completely free of charge.

YouTube and Vimeo

These are just two of the sites that allow users to upload their own video files, and for someone in the know, these sites can be a goldmine of potential leads. Many tarot readers, professionals and amateurs alike, use video sites to expand their following and to build backlinks to their main sites.

Free online tarot readings is just one of the many topics, but you'll find that many readers use this technique to showcase their reading skills to potential clients, so it's fairly easy to find free readings on these sites. All you need to do is search for terms such as "Free Tarot", "Free tarot reading", "Tarot reading free" or "Tarot reading giveaway" and you'll be given a long list of videos that match those terms.

Each reader will explain how and why they're doing a free reading, so either check out the description or view the video to find out what you can do to get a free reading as well. Many tarot readers use this technique to build up content on their YouTube channels and will give away a free reading at least once a week.

Social Networks like Facebook

If you're familiar with social networks, you may already be just a click or two away from one of the biggest free reading resources on the Net. Social sites not only connect people, but they also allow professionals to build an online presence and show case their offerings to potential clients.

This is where groups and pages come in handy. With a few simple search terms like "practice readings", "free tarot reading", "Tarot readers" etc, you'll get access to groups where readings are either traded or given away for free.

The principle behind this is that each reader illustrates his or her abilities by reading for someone in the group, and even professionals use this tactic to get added exposure once in a while. So becoming a member and taking part in the discussions is one of the fastest ways to ensure you make friends in the right places and get access to free online Tarot whenever you want it.

Online Forums

Online forums are a little like social networking pages with the exception that each forum usually focuses on a particular topic or niche. Finding forums that are related to Tarot, divination, free readings, and so on can also give you access to free readings and to individuals who are either doing readings to get more experience or as promotion for their business.

The best way to go about it is to register, fill out your profile and ensure that you upload a picture as well. The more real your profile is, the better. Becoming a member of the community and contributing by replying to posts and starting new threads is another way to ensure you get accepted into the group and this also allows you to take part in any of the free reading offers. Like with any other online social networks, it's all about getting to know people, so always ensure that you offer value to the forum and that you actively communicate and interact with the other members.

Demo Readings

This is another way to get access to free online tarot readings, and may be simpler than the other techniques. To do this, you'll need to register at a video psychic or tarot site where readers are showcased via streaming chat.

With most of these sites, readers will be required to do a demonstration of their readings and this is where demo readings come in. Many of these sites require readers to do a certain number of demo readings while they are in free chat.

Ensuring that you are in a reader's chat room when he or she has to go into demo mode, is the very first step. Secondly, interact with the reader to ensure that it's someone you'd be comfortable getting a reading from, and participate in the discussion. The more pleasant you are, the better your chances of getting picked for a demo reading.

Alternatively, some readers may draw straws or ask the chatters to answer a question in order to choose the demo reading recipient. This is another fun way to choose who to read for and also gives the chatters an opportunity to participate in the process.

Online Giveaways

This is something you'll most often see with professional readers or bloggers who are looking for ways to expand their audience. Competitions and giveaways are usually done with the requisite that each person who enters subscribes to the newsletter or the mailing list. This ensures that there is a benefit for the site or blog owner and allows them to market their services to targeted and interested parties.

Many readers will advertise their giveaways or competitions via video sites or social networks, so this is another option if you're searching for free tarot readings. Be sure to follow the instructions for each entry, to ensure that your entry is valid and accepted. The format or requirements will vary from one site to the next, but the extra time will be well worth it should you win the free reading.

This is one of the better ways to get a free reading because you'll most likely be dealing with a professional online tarot reader or psychic, and you'll receive a full reading instead of a demo or taster reading.

Free Phone or Chat Minutes

Many phone or chat sites make free minutes available to new users, and you may find that you're able to get anywhere from 3 to 6 free minutes with an online tarot reader or psychic of your choice, depending where you register.

Remember that in most cases, you have to be over 18 to use these sites and you may be asked to enter credit card information into the form when you register. This is to verify your age and you should not be charged for time on the phone.

A 3 to 6 minute reading is enough to answer a basic question or two but won't give you the opportunity to have a complete reading done, so if you take this route, remember to keep your question brief and to decide beforehand what you would like to ask first.

These methods should get you a free reading when you're unable to book a paid session, but always take the time to research the person doing your reading. Even on forums or social networks, it's best to find out just how much experience the person has before trusting him or her to do your reading.

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What Is Gluten And What Are The Best Flour Choices For Gluten Free Cooking

Gluten is a complex protein found in wheat, rye and barley and for some people that spells trouble.

What Is Gluten A Free Diet?

A gluten-free diet (GF diet) is one that excludes any type of food that has gluten, which is a particular protein composite found in wheat, rye, barley and triticale.

Who Should Worry About Gluten?

Imagine not being able to eat anything that has wheat, barley or rye in it?

Yet that is the very plight for many who have to maintain a gluten-free diet.

For those who are diagnosed with Celiac disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis food having wheat, rye or barley in it is no longer an option.

Without becoming too technical or medical, wheat, rye and barley wreaks havoc on their small intestine. To avoid that scenario gluten must be avoided over the course of a lifetime, which is a long time, but, it does not mean you have to give up your favorites.

It just means modification and using the right flours.

Some people who do not suffer from Celiac Disease or DH also reported feeling better when they went Gluten free.

However, it is important to realize that foods labeled as being "gluten free" are not necessarily healthy. Some of them are high in carbs, calories and fat, and so can be a concern for healthy weight management.

Flours That Contain Gluten and Should Be Avoided

• Farina
• Graham flour
• Kamut
• Rye
• Bulgur
• Durum
• Semolina
• Spelt
• Triticale
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Gluten Free Flour Options For Cooking And Baking

We live in exciting times where the most creative minds have discovered ways for the gluten-free to have, to hold, and to eat cake too, as long as it is made of flour that is not ground from wheat, rye or barley.

In the market place, more flour selections than ever before are available to accommodate the gluten-free diet.

Brown Rice Flour

This is a supplementary flour, and works great when blended with teff, buckwheat or sorghum flours. It is great for cooking and works for both sweet and savory dishes.

Millet Flour

This is a light in color and drier flour than others are and is best when mixed with heartier flours, like, Teff, Hemp, or almond, but, it should not be used by itself.

Teff Flour

Teff is an all-around flour that works great for baking in gluten free diets. It is loaded with good nutrients and has a nutty flavor and darker color. This flour is not easily found in traditional markets, but can be found online.

Buckwheat Flour

This is an ideal gluten free flour alternative for use in muffins, cakes and pancakes. In fact, buckwheat pancakes are much healthier as far as weight management than the traditional white flour varieties. In order to get dough that rolls well, add something starchy, such as, cornstarch or tapioca flour.

Sweet White Rice Flour (aka Mochiko)

This is a great choice to add moisture and density to baked goods. It has a slightly milky taste, and it's a little sweet. It is typically used to make Japanese desserts such as Mochi. It works well for both sweet and savory recipes.

Almond Flour

This is a great choice for baking. Made from ground almonds, it is also a great choice for very low carb baking. Using 1/4 of this in any flour mixture will add moistness, binding, a light almond flavor, and a good amount of density to muffins, brownies, cookies, breads, dehydrated snacks and cake recipes.

Corn Flour

Corn flour can be added to many gluten-free flour mixes, pastas and flatbreads.

Commercial Gluten Free Flour Choices

Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour

One offering is Bob's Red Mill, http://www.bobsredmill.com/gluten-free-all-purpose-baking-flour.html, which is a fine blend using as its base garbanzo beans, potato starch, and tapioca, to name a few of the ingredients.

Carol's Amazing Gluten Free ALL PURPOSE Flour

Carol is a chef and decided that the gluten-free options in the marketplace were not turning out products to meet her high standards and, more importantly, did not satisfy her client's love of baked goods. She therefore decided to create her own blend that she's marketed to the cheers of many who need to remain gluten-free.

In addition, although Carol is not giving up the exact recipe of her blend, she does admit that she has tested the flour and it has passed, encouraging many to bake with the same results they were having with gluten-laden products.

Ingredients:

White Rice Flour, Potato Starch, Sweet Rice Flour, Tapioca Starch, Xanthan Gum.

King Arthur Gluten Free Multi-Purpose Flour ( http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/gluten-free-multi-purpose-flour )

A third option, King Arthur Flour, an inexpensive alternative at $7.95 for a 24-ounce box. This flour is a blend of white rice and whole grain brown rice flours, along with tapioca and potato starch, but what's great about this product is that 'it's multi-purpose' and can therefore be used for both baking and cooking, cup-for-cup, the same as any gluten-laden flour product.

4 Tips For Beginners Of Gluten-Free Cooking

1. Experiment, experiment and experiment. There is a learning curve when you first start with Gluten free cooking, but, once you get some practice and experience you will become an expert about what works and what does not.

2. Stay with it and don't get discouraged. There will be failed recipes because you have to learn which flour combinations work best, but, it just takes practice and testing. It's best to get guidance from recipe books or online guides when first starting out so you don't waste time re-inventing the wheel.

3. Begin with simple recipes and learn the basics. As you get more experienced and master those, you can move onto the more complicated dishes.

4. When you pinpoint the perfect flour combinations to match your taste, stick with, likely it will work for all your cooking and baking needs.

Russell (Rusty) Hart is the founder of the Health, Fitness & Sport Club, an online network of websites devoted to the promotion of health, fitness and wellness. The sites encompass a wide variety of health and fitness activities including general health matters, pilates, yoga, crossfit, treadmill training, equestrian, running, kettlebell, swimming, and more. Also covered are Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), Positive Thinking, the Law of Attraction and related topics. Those interested can visit the HF & S Club home site at http://www.healthfitnessandsport.com and [http://www.healthyhabitsmatter.com]

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