Book: Determined

Robert Sapolsky's new book (2023) argues that there is no free will, that if we knew the state of all neurons with sufficient accuracy then we could predict a person's behavior. My sister thought I'd enjoy the book as a Christmas present.

I'm only a chapter into it, but I already suspect the key word in that first sentence is "if." The brain is such a morass of tangled neurons that it becomes a chaotic system, and the appearance of free will is the result. Determinism is only as good as the understanding of initial conditions.

I'm skimming.

• The book's premise is dead simple, as I guessed
  
• The author writes in a jokey, offhanded voice which gets annoying quick
  
• Nearly every page has at least one footnote, which are jokey annoying asides that add nothing to the subject
  

I'm sure the author thinks he's being charming, but it's like sitting next to the guy in the bar who desperately wants to be your friend.